SCARLETT JOHANSSON
Anywhere I Lay My Head

Scarlett Johansson’s Tom Waits covers album isn’t as bad as you might think. Problem is, it’s not very good, either. As a singer, Johansson is a pretty good actress. Her voice is so deep that it’s distinctly unfeminine, but the further you wade into Anywhere I Lay My Head, the less Johansson’s personality is even a factor. That’s because TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek has constructed such an insular, albeit unique, sonic environment for the material, which he’s accurately described as “Tinker Bell meets cough syrup.” You quickly get submerged in vaguely oppressive swirls of reverb, wind-tunnel noises, warped guitar lines and multi-tracked (and off-pitch) vocal outros, which are applied regardless of whether the song is a ballad. Oh, and David Bowie shows up twice to add backing vocals. The one moment where a little sunshine breaks through is “I Don’t Want To Grow Up,” a Depeche Mode/New Order pastiche that raises both the tempo and the listener’s spirits. This album isn’t a total disaster, but it’s difficult to imagine most people wanting to listen to Anywhere I Lay My Head more than once. [Atco, www.rhino.com]

—Jonathan Cohen