The news of the unlikely duo made me kind of wonder if their album was a car wreck waiting to happen. I had read everywhere that it was going to be their answer to Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot, but everybody was thinking, more like She & Him. An impossible feat to compete with, because, when’s the last time you ever read any bad press about M. Ward or Zooey Deschanel? The critics love them and they also loved to hate on Scarlett’s Tom Waits covers album. I had given up on Pete Yorn several albums ago. His first album was this explosive mainstay on radio for almost a year. You couldn’t go anywhere and not hear Life on a Chain. It was downhill from there. Until he met up with famed producers Rick Rubin and Frank Black. His creative juices must have been sent into overdrive because he knocked out three albums. I am one of those people that listened to that Tom Waits covers album and hated it immediately. The combination of the past track record for both artists had me wondering how the final result would materialize, and the Break Up as a whole makes me hope that the duo never breakup and that they come back for an encore. The two really flex their muscles on the slower ditties, where the two exchange sweet nothings like two lovers in a long distance relationship. Pete’s and ScarJo’s voices compliment each other in ways that rival pineapple on pizza or Milk Duds in popcorn. The smokey husky voice from Scarlett on Clean make me yearn for a time when Kathleen Turner was considered kind of hot when she was cast alongside Michael Douglas in Jewel of the Nile. The songwriting has been kicked up several notches from the days when Pete use to write about Burritos. There’s an upcoming tour that will be kicked off next week and KBCO will be hosting Mr. Yorn at the Fox Theater December 5th, as part of their Holiday Concert Series. You can purchase Break Up, here.
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson –Relator [mp3]
You can watch their other video for Shampoo that they recorded on Ellen, here.
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson –Relator on Ellen
Interview w/Ellen
Tour Dates
Oct 19 2009 8:00P
Granada Theatre Lawrence, Kansas
Oct 21 2009 8:00P
The Blue Note Columbia, Missouri
Oct 22 2009 8:00P
Rococo Theatre Lincoln, Nebraska
Oct 24 2009 8:00P
Bluebird Nightclub Bloomington, Indiana
Oct 25 2009 8:00P
Newport Music Hall Columbus, Ohio
Oct 26 2009 8:00P
Vogue Theatre Indianapolis, Indiana
Oct 27 2009 8:00P
Majestic Theatre Madison, Wisconsin
Oct 29 2009 8:00P
Intersection Grand Rapids, Michigan
Oct 30 2009 8:00P
State Theatre State College, Pennsylvania
Nov 1 2009 8:00P
Ridgefield Playhouse Ridgefield, Connecticut
Nov 2 2009 8:00P
Port City Music Hall Portland, Maine
Nov 4 2009 8:00P
Newport Music Hall The Egg Albany, New York
Nov 5 2009 8:00P
Electric Factory Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nov 7 2009 8:00P
Shoreline Ballroom Hilton Head, South Carolina
Nov 8 2009 8:00P
Amos Southend Charlotte, North Carolina
Nov 10 2009 8:00P
40 Watt Club Athens, Georgia
Nov 12 2009 8:00P
PUSH St. Petersburg, Florida
Nov 13 2009 8:00P
Freebird Café Jacksonville, Florida
Nov 15 2009 8:00P
Workplay Theatre Birmingham, Alabama
Nov 18 2009 8:00P
The Varsity Theatre Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Nov 19 2009 8:00P
House of Blues Dallas, Texas
Nov 21 2009 8:00P
Marquee Scottsdale, Arizona
Dec 5 2009 8:00P
Fox Theater The People’s Republic of Boulder, CO