Atco
2008
Anywhere I Lay My Head
About This Album
As an actress, Scarlett Johansson often gives herself over to being an object of fantasy -- not necessarily in a purely carnal fashion, but something rather more complicated: wish fulfillment for her directors. Sofia Coppola turned Scarlett into a romanticized version of herself, Woody Allen was comfortable casting her as both a lethal sophisticated seductress and ditsy bombshell, while even Michael Bay turned her into some kind of empty cloned sex kitten. Given this history, perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise that her debut album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, is an extension of this pattern, as Dave Sitek -- pivotal member of TV on the Radio, producer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Foals -- helps turn Scarlett into a 4AD diva, partially with the assistance of Ivo Watts, who helped sequence the album. And yet, it is a surprise that she gives herself over to Sitek so willingly that it's impossible to tell what parts of the album were driven by Johansson and what parts are wish fulfillments from Sitek, who seems to be bent on creating his own dream pop fantasy. Certainly, Anywhere I Lay My Head is not strictly a Tom Waits tribute, as the songs are rearranged so drastically they're only used as a vehicle for texture -- dense, crawling texture, occasionally recalling the junkyard percussion of the Waits of Swordfishtrombones ("Green Grass" retains that same clattering kalimba rhythms).
Track List (try tracks 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9)

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