Critics review Johansson singing Waits

The Guardian's Dorian Lynskey doles out a generous four out of five stars for the first single Anywhere I Lay My Head. "What's the world coming to when you can't even rely on actors to make rotten records any more?" Lynskey asks.

And then advises listeners to think of Johansson's efforts as "an arthouse movie: script by Tom Waits, whose catalogue supplies all but one of the songs, direction by TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, whose dreamy, filmic music suggests an updated This Mortal Coil, and a supporting role for one D Bowie."

Lynskey concludes that "it's a measure of this album's surprising allure that you're left wanting more" - an opinion shared by the Scotsman's Fiona Shepherd, who describes the album as "deliciously intriguing" and Johansson's voice as "a haughty, glacial tenor, intoning like Velvet Underground chanteuse Nico as she is consumed by the encroaching organ swirl and funereal horns. Intoxicating."

But while the Scotsman and the Guardian rave about it, the Times's Pete Paphides gives Johansson's musical debut one star out of five.

"On Johansson's album, Dave Sitek's [producer Dave Sitek of Brooklyn outfit TV on the Radio] production heaps on dislocated synths that camouflage Johansson's voice."

Indeed, despite the heaped praise, even Shepherd admits that "Johansson is really no ballsy soul heartbreaker but her voice is well served by Sitek's production choices" and concedes that "although rarely the most prominent element in the mix, she does still provide an alluring focus around which Sitek's evocative arrangements dance."

But Paphides goes one further; where Lynskey raves about Johansson's vocal chords - "a supple, languid instrument offering hints of Nico, Kim Deal and Martina Topley-Bird, depending on the song's mood" - Paphides refers to her voice as "a bleat that only a deaf mother could love" and asks "under the circumstances, who would blame him if he [Sitek] went one better and removed it [Johansson's vocals] entirely?"

Indeed it seems the consensus amongst reviewers is that although being the central selling point of the album, Johansson's contribution to its success is limited.

As the LA Times's Ann Powers observes: "her voice is best understood as an element in Sitek's wide-ranging constructions, not a central force."

Paphides concludes that the album's sole worth is as a testament to the talents of Tom Waits: "One can only marvel at the ability of these songs to withstand this sort of A-list attack."

Listen to the album here.

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