Break Up, by Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson

A truly one-of-a-kind album, Break Up brings together critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Pete Yorn and the multi-talented Scarlett Johansson. In this deeply emotive yet hook-filled song cycle, Yorn and Johansson reenact the tempestuous course of a love affair on the rocks in captivating detail. The album contains eight original compositions by Yorn, ranging in tone from the lilting opener “Relator” to the disarming, retro/futuristic “I Don’t Know What to Do” to the climactic “Someday.” Completing the collection is a powerful interpretation of the art-rock classic “I Am the Cosmos” by the late Chris Bell, co-founder of the quintessential cult band Big Star.

The album had its genesis in the aftermath of—you guessed it—a breakup. The time was 2006, and Yorn was in a state of acute emotional distress. As he prepared to go out on a headlining tour behind his third studio album, Nightcrawler, he found himself in the throes of a brutal bout of insomnia. After not being able to sleep for a week, he finally dozed off, only to wake with a start just minutes later. What had awakened him was a dream. “I sat up in bed, and the whole thing was in my head, fully formed,” Yorn says, sounding as if he still doesn’t quite believe it. “I suddenly felt like I really needed to make a record in the style of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot. Not that it had to sound like that, but it had to be a guy-and-girl conceptual thing. So then I asked myself, ‘Who’s Brigitte Bardot today? It’s Scarlett Johansson.’”

Revitalized by his concept and thrilled by the prospect of bringing it to life, Yorn gave Johansson a call. Intrigued by his out-of-the-blue invitation, she decided to go for it. ”Pete told me that he’d had a dream that we recorded an album together,” she recalls, “and with that momentum, he had written eight songs that he’d wanted to record pretty low-key. I’ve always loved Pete’s voice and have been friends with him for some time. It sounded like an interesting little adventure. He used the Serge and Brigitte recordings as reference for the ambiance he was trying to capture. He liked the idea of two people vocalizing their relationship through duets.”

In a flash, Yorn had worked up a dedicated batch of songs and reworked others that had called out to him in the context of the concept. He then called upon his cousin, Max Goldblatt, a bright, talented guy nine years his junior. A “renaissance man,” in Yorn’s words, Goldblatt had become an invaluable part of the artist’s musical and personal life, doing everything from manning the merch table and shooting video footage during tours to acting as an insightful sounding board for song ideas. They had wanted to work on a project together, and this one, so close to home in an emotional sense, provided the perfect opportunity. Goldblatt then suggested they bring in Sunny Levine, an emerging artist and producer (you’ll want to seek out his 2005 debut album, Love Rhino), who was full of inventively offbeat sonic ideas. Levine comes by his considerable chops naturally—his father is producer Stewart Levine; his grandfather is Quincy Jones.

In Levine’s garage studio, the three collaborators worked up the tracks around Yorn’s vocals and acoustic guitar, with Levine creating the beats and treating the sounds until they were exotic and sometimes otherworldly, but unfailingly accessible. They brought in guitarist Robert Francis (who’d been mentored on the slide by Ry Cooder), bassist Giuseppe Patane and violinist Amir Yaghmai for the particular flavors they could bring, and the tracks grew organically. Finally, they were ready for Johansson.

When she arrived at the studio, Johansson learned the songs “on the fly,” Yorn marvels. “I just played them for her on the acoustic, and we went for it. Scarlett is a quick study.”

“I didn’t really think about the songs at the time of recording,” Johansson acknowledges. “I was so focused on getting the harmonies solid and singing with the right intention that I didn’t have the perspective to see the album as a whole. It wasn’t until after the production was completed that I could hear what Pete and I sounded like together and how catchy and whimsical the songs were.”

“I’ve loved the album ever since I heard it completed,” she continues. “I like to listen to it from beginning to end, because it’s brief and all sweetly wrapped up. It perfectly captured where I was in my life at that time—a sort of cosmic coincidence. I never thought that anyone else would ever hear the album; I always thought of it as just a small project between friends.”

Predating Johansson’s debut album by nearly two years; Break Up was conceived and recorded in 2006. “When I went off to record Anywhere I Lay My Head,” explains Johansson, “it was such a completely different experience, a different sound and wildly different material that I couldn’t really use the recording of Break Up as a point of reference. When we recorded Break Up, I sang to compliment Pete’s voice and to be the female counterpart of a duo whereas when recording the solo album, I was covering Waits tracks and never much cared how rough I sounded; I wanted to get the point across of how I felt when I read his lyrics.”

It’s precisely the intimacy and immediacy of this “small project between friends” that makes Break Up seem so real, and sound so magical. Whether listened to individually or in the intended sequence, these songs and performances are utterly timeless and universally relatable . . . at least to anyone who’s ever fallen in—or out—of love.

Commercial performance

Anywhere I Lay My Head debuted at number 126 on the Billboard 200, selling 5,100 copies in its first week. The album fared better in Europe, reaching number 15 in Switzerland, number 25 in Austria, number 26 in France, number 27 in Sweden, and number 30 in Belgium and Germany. By August 2009, the album had sold about 25,000 copies worldwide.

• Belgian Albums 78
• Belgian Albums 45
• French Albums 18
• German Albums 89
• Swiss Albums 58
• UK Albums Chart 160
• US Billboard 200 41
• US Top Alternative Albums 6
• US Top Rock Albums 14

Critical reception

Critical response to the 2009 album
Break Up by Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson was mixed, but generally lukewarm. Critics found the collaboration charming but lacking in emotional depth and standout tracks, often describing it as a “curio” rather than a substantial musical statement.
Key Points of Critical Response

• Inspiration and Concept: The album was inspired by the 1960s duets of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot. While the concept was interesting, critics noted the album rarely achieved the “smouldering sexual erotic tension” of its inspiration, instead offering a lighter, more “vanilla” pop-folk sound.
• Vocal Chemistry: Opinions on the duo’s chemistry varied. Some reviewers found their voices created a “smoothing blend” or had an “undeniable on-record connection”, while others perceived a lack of “sexual chemistry”. Johansson’s deep, “husky” voice was noted as better suited for this project than her previous Tom Waits cover album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, though some still found it a bit “dry”.
• Songwriting & Production: The nine-song collection, primarily penned by Yorn, was described as “thoughtful, catchy heartache pop” with “lush, inventive production”. However, many critics felt there were few “great songs,” with most tracks being merely “good ones” or “filler-standard fare”. The short runtime (28 minutes) was seen as both a strength (short, sweet) and a weakness (lacking completeness).
• Overall Verdict: The consensus was that the album felt tentative and slight, likely to benefit Yorn more than establish Johansson as a serious musician. Reviewers generally recommended it for hardcore fans of either artist or as light background music, but not as an essential listen.

The album received a Metacritic score of 67/100, indicating generally mixed or average reviews