Break Up

Pete Yorn, Scarlett Johansson, Pete Yorn/Scarlett Johansson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 15, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino
• ASIN: B002AOWXO0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,529 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Relator

2. Wear And Tear

3. I Don't Know What To Do

4. Search Your Heart

5. Blackie's Dead

6. I Am The Cosmos

7. Shampoo

8. Clean

9. Someday

Editorial Reviews

Born out of the deep sleep that can only follow weeks of insomnia, Pete Yorn awoke to find BREAK UP, and its concept of two lovers vocalizing their relationship, fully formed in his head. Taking inspiration from Serge Gainsbourg's collaborations with Brigitte Bardot, Yorn and Scarlett Johansson headed to the studio, with Sunny Levine in the production booth and Yorn and Max Goldblatt serving as executive producers. The album also features contributions from guitarist Robert Francis, bassist Giuseppe Patane, violinist Amir Yaghmai, with Goldblatt on banjo, synth bass and backing vocals, and Levine handling programming and mixing. Comprised of eight songs written and arranged by Yorn and one cover, BREAK UP embarks on a musical journey that covers all bases from lovers lost in gravelly exit song "Someday" to lovers scorned in the questioning "Search Your Heart." Johansson's raspy voice lends a retro feel to the poppy opening track "Relator," playfully complementing Yorn's choruses and setting the tone for the rest of the album's side-by-side vocals. Standout tracks include banjo-driven "Wear And Tear," reminiscent of Pete's early solo efforts, the big band-esque "I Don't Know What To Do," and a shimmering interpretation of the art-rock class "I Am The Cosmos" by the late Chris Bell, co-founder of quintessential cult band Big Star. --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasantly Surprised!, September 16, 2009

By 

John DeSombre "Sundancer" (Maywood, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Break Up (Amazon Exclusive) (MP3 Download)

I was a bit skeptical after reading some of the reviews on here and because I had never heard Scarlett J. sing before. Wow! I was thoroughly and pleasantly surprised. She can sing and the entire album was a breath of fresh air. Give a listen to the samples before listening to the haters (i.e. judge for yourself!).

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Freaking Awesome!, October 19, 2009

By 

BTrain (Pioneer Square) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Break Up (Amazon Exclusive) (MP3 Download)

Ok, admittedly this music is very mellow and is stuff you might put on a playlist with a name like "Alone in the Dark," "Struck Out at the Bar Last Night" or "Just Got Dumped." For the kind of music it is I think this CD (or whatever you call a group of songs these days) is great. The only songs I don't really like too much are the "Blackie's Dead" songs since they don't quite seem to fit with the rest of the music for some reason. Song like "I am the Cosmos" are awesome though.

When I originally bought this I had some trepidation about Scarlett Johansen and her vocals on these tracks but they blend very well with the type of music it is. Her voice is much better than I expected but she still doesn't show that she has a very powerful voice like a Broadway singer or anything but, the cool thing, is that she didn't need to on any of these songs and for what she needed to do her voice worked very well.


Check out the songs and grab it you feel like you need some new kind of mellow music and don't be afraid of an actress trying to sing in this case.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Catchy, fun album, September 16, 2009

By 

Slu (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Break Up (Amazon Exclusive) (MP3 Download)

I didn't know what to expect when I downloaded this, as I was not familiar with the music of Scarlett Johansson or Pete Yorn. Well I am glad I downloaded it. The songs are very catchy and the voices blend well together. The harmonies are excellent. Scarlett has an excellent voice. The songs are 60s style pop, but with modern production so they don't sound dated at all. Overall, this is a fun album to listen to.