Billy Bragg’s new album with the Blokes, “Mr. Love & Justice,” is out now. He also has renditions of each track solo electric on the album’s site. Here’s one:

I must admit that, like many, I approached the concept of a Scarlett Johansson album of Tom Waits covers as one might approach a dollar bill dangling from a shark’s mouth. I wanted to disregard it, pretend it didn’t exist, scoff at anyone so foolish as to go near it expecting anything but an unhappy ending. But in the secret recesses of my mind, I quietly hoped that, despite the odds, the album could actually be good and not tarnish the name of Mr. Waits—my favorite musical artist and one of the most important contributors to the great sloshing pool of noise we call “music”. Having finally listened to the album in all its uneven glory, I can say that the actual product is more complicated than either of my divergent expectations could have anticipated.

It’s clear from the instrumental first track that ScarJo is not the one running this show. That credit belongs to David Sitek, the album’s producer (better known as the guitarist for TV On The Radio and producer for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs). Sitek infuses the album with that sleepy, sexy, post-modern urban ambiance that fans of TVOTR know quite well. But while TVOTR singer Tunde Adebimpe can turn a detached vocal delivery into a sharpened weapon, Johansson’s detached vocals sound more asleep-at-the-wheel than calm-and-cool, and it is this detachment that plagues the entire album, frequently dragging it through the mud just when it tries to soar.

Johansson is not a remarkably gifted singer, and Sitek wisely keeps her vocals semi-buried in the mix. What takes center stage instead are the lush arrangements, looped drums, and slick production—elements that draw the listener in like a lover’s embrace under the sheets.

Scarlett does have some standout moments, though, like on “Fannin’ Street” (with guest vocals by David Bowie), where she ably equals Waits’ somber delivery of the song’s dire warning. And on the album’s title track, Scarlett transforms the song from a vagabond’s defiant declaration into a tale of loss and shattered dreams. She struggles more on songs like “I Don’t Want To Grow Up”, previously covered to better effect by the Ramones, where no amount of dripping reverb can give her voice the defiance required to help the song escape the realm of bad ’80s dancehall pretender.

The album ends on a surprisingly strong note with “Who Are You?”, one of Waits’ most moving songs to date. Scarlett’s voice is concealed beneath those of the guest vocalists, and the track is the most TVOTR-sounding of them all–which gives it a cold stillness and lends a layer of shimmering heartbreak to the lyrics’ jaded skepticism.

Anywhere I Lay My Head can be a frustratingly uneven affair, and it’s easy to wish for a more capable vocalist. But Sitek has done well for himself; he has refused to let the album be just another celebrity vanity project, and his presence is felt on every track. This commitment can make Johansson’s phoned-in delivery all the more frustrating, but credit should be given to her for choosing such talented collaborators. And while she doesn’t succeed in announcing her presence as a genuine musical talent, Johansson and Sitek have delivered a rewarding album that overcomes its questionable existence and, at times, even does Mr. Waits proud.

C+

Cloudy Days - Jim Coleman
The Light - Sun Kil Moon
Rock Bottom Riser (Live) - Smog
Engine (Live) - Neutral Milk Hotel
Man in the Long Black Coat - Mark Lanegan
Between the Wars - Billy Bragg
Country Sad Ballad Man - Blur
Numb - Cast King & Matt Downer
God’s Lamb - Harlan T. Bobo
I’m Only Sleeping (Outtake) - The Beatles
I Found a Reason (Demo) - The Velvet Underground
Trouble - Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
Jesus Don’t Want Me For a Sunbeam (Live) - Nirvana
Big Trouble - Man Man
Floating in the Forth - Frightened Rabbit
Okay We’ll Fade Before the End - Friend/Enemy

Director Michael Johnson sent us this music video that he recently did for the band Homeless Heart (Ironworks Records):

2008, Exit Stencil Records

Spanish Prisoners‘ first album, Songs to Forget, starts and ends sparsely, but definitely not forgettably.

The album begins with a nice guitar and strange vocals, and ends with a kind of combination medieval folk and Live In Chicago-era Joan of Arc. On the second track, lead man Leonid Maymind sings that there’s “No solace from the sunrise,” amid synth drums and loud guitars. The album continues along that vein for a while, then relaxes a bit in the middle (the swelling instrumental “This is Not That”). After this point, Spanish Prisoners seem to really get their footing. The tracks that follow, “Mantequilla,” “Dear Just Curious,” and “How the Fallen Fell,”–especially with “Fallen”’s Neil Young harmonica–are the album’s highlights.

B+

Owl&Bear Downloads
Spanish Prisoners - April 5, 2008 (FLAC)

2008, Inman Records

The Informati, even with dead language vocals, remains an interesting listen.

It’s easy to imagine the songs from Requiem as a backdrop for the climactic drug scene in a film. At the same time, however, Requiem’s relatively soft sounds and Latin lyrics also border on New Age stuff that might appear on a daytime TV commercial for the latest Mood Music comp.

This music isn’t bad by any stretch, but with all due respect, these tracks are probably best experienced live or otherwise in conjunction with counting sheep; perhaps there is a time for everything.

C

Self-released

Australian folk singer Tom Bolton is a formidable guitarist who writes romantic/poetic lyrics occasionally reminiscent of later-era Sting.

“Sensible Tom” is actually probably better than later-era Sting. After some mellowness, the album picks up with “Whose Army,” a more rocking track than most of what is on When I Cross The River. “Hey You, Yeah You” is another highlight, and contains a mix of Beatles-esque composition, acoustic power chords, and handful of “Hey you, yeah you”-s. “All I Can Do” is Harrison-esque and pretty cool.

B

Dead Flowers - Townes Van Zandt
In My Life - The Beatles
Broke (Live) - Modest Mouse
Cody, Cody - The Flying Burrito Brothers
Colleen - Joanna Newsom
How Indiscreet - Andrew Bird
Call My Name - Paul Burch
November Nights - Dreadful Yawns
If I Have To Go - Tom Waits
Saturday Sun - Nick Drake
Abegail Anne - Jeremy Enigk
Involuntary - M. Ward
Metal Heart - Cat Power
Cowgirl in the Sand - Neil Young