Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson, “Break Up” (Atco)

What a combination, right? The heartbreaker singer-songwriter and the Hollywood starlet cutting a record of listener- friendly pop music? But “Break Up” is a surprisingly solid listen — surprising only because actress Johansson’s first record, a collection of atmospheric Tom Waits covers, was a creative failure.

As it turns out, smooth-rocker Yorn is the ideal match for Johansson. With Yorn’s songwriting and the back-and- forth dueting of plainspoken Yorn and seductive Johansson, this record is a lush and fruitful collection of consistently listenable pop.

“I Don’t Know What to Do” sounds like a throwback 1960s jam with its laid-back strings and piano and its backbeat vocals. Yorn has said this record was inspired by the recordings by Serge Gainsbourg and Bridget Bardot, and you can hear that playful, flirty aesthetic in many of these songs — especially the oddly melodic “Blackie’s Dead” and the slinking “Clean,” the latter of which has Johansson sounding like Lily Allen.

Could it be that Johansson is the next great female pop star? Quite possibly. — Ricardo Baca

More from Reverb

• Photo essay: Pete Yorn @ the Fox Theatre
• Photo essay: Andrea Ball’s "Dial Tone" CD release @ the Hi-Dive
• Live revie: Big Head Todd and the Monsters @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre

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