Review Summary: An understated, excellent pop album which comes across as a resounding success.
Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson's unlikely collaboration Break Up starts with the upbeat, mid-tempo Relator, and who'd have thought it? Johansson sounds completely at home; after all, 2008's Anywhere I Lay My Head was at best uneventful, a record of Tom Waits covers that begged a million questions and gave very few answers, but on the album opener she sounds natural and well-positioned. Just as the beginning of I Don't Know What To Do carries an unfamiliar soul twang that many would never have expected, Yorn seems to bring out the best in her. He's prominent, of course, but this record feels just as much hers as his (despite the obvious location of the songwriting credits - Yorn only steps out of the way on I Am The Cosmos, but it's not to Johansson, it's to Chris Bell.)
Break Up rarely kicks into 'full swing', preferring to favour stuttered, soul/jazz-influenced backdrops and catchy (but never overtly so) choruses that seep in slowly, like,
I'm in love with a girl, sees what you are, what you a-are, from the chorus of Blackie's Dead. There's no doubt that Break Up is a chill-out album, less of an epic tragedy than an understated attempt at documenting a split, but in that arena it fares remarkably well; even I Am The Cosmos sounds restrained and beautiful, with Johansson's tender vocals carrying the abstract lyrics incredibly well. There's no hint that Break Up was rushed or became a struggle at any point;
he sounds typically comfortable and the pop hooks keep on coming, while
she adds the necessary second point of view. Though Johansson fades slightly towards the end of the album, even the layered vocals of Shampoo feel perfectly oriented, and I don't remember feeling like a duet record was as well executed as this.
Yorn's talent shines through, as you'd expect; it's been a while since he started writing complex and excellent pop songs, and it shows. Really gentle horns, soft piano, unassuming acoustic guitars and a sublime rhythm section mean that Break Up feels like a tour-de-force of pop sensibilities; it never loses its head, but at the same time it never falls into convention. Tracks like the great I Don't Know What To Do are content to rest innocuously at a medium tempo through their runtime, while Blackie's Dead floats above a solid and persistent drumbeat. The bass on Break Up is subtle, but that doesn't stop the energy, it just means it's more laid-back. It suits Yorn and Johansson's vocals that nobody tries to push the record beyond permanently enjoyable pop music, but that doesn't mean it's always predictable; I Am The Cosmos' slow-burning electronics come out of left field and there are plenty of nuances to accompany their voices, which are obviously the focal point. Rightly so; they're both excellent.
It's strange, because Break Up never really combines to form anything of a cohesive story, especially with cuts like I Am The Cosmos and vague lyrical themes, but the lack of overbearing ambition is endearing in a way; this record doesn't pretend to answer questions or fix problems, it's just a story. In keeping with such a theme, it's short - 28 minutes is all this collaboration lasts, but it's long enough. The verses turn to choruses at just the right points, the flow is brilliant, and the interplay between Yorn (permanently fragile) and Johansson (permanently pretty) is flawlessly worked. Closer Someday and its picked acoustic guitars and dragging beats feels more like a penultimate track and there's definitely something special missing in the way of completeness, but that almost feels deliberate. Short, sweet, with excellent replay value and a lot of beautiful moments, it leaves you kind of not knowing, but the temptation is to press play from the beginning again. Sounds exactly like a break-up.
