Music Review: Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson - Apart

This five-song EP is the second recording collaboration between the indie rocker and the Hollywood actress, following their 2009 album Break Up. That album, according to Yorn, dealt with “an unraveling relationship,” while Apart  deals with what he describes as the love affair’s “aftermath.” Johansson, who released an album of Tom Waits covers with 2008’s Anywhere I Lay My Head, duets with Yorn on the Fleetwood Mac-like “Bad Dreams” and the chiming “Iguana Bird.” “It is always a pleasure to sing with Yorn,” says Johansson, “because our voices and stories complement each other.” Indeed they do. The dreamy “Movies” is a perfect example of the sensuous weave of their vocals over a moody, minimalist track. “Cigarillo” finds the pair harmonizing on a wistful folk-rock number. Johannson’s showpiece is the closing “Tomorrow,” a remake of a song that appeared on Yorn’s 2016 album Arranging Time. It proves that she’s as affecting a singer as she is a compelling actress.