She & Him perform "Change Is Hard" on the Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson
Naming a record Volume One means there's more where that came from. And in the case of She & Him, more wouldn't be a bad thing. "He" of the band's name is M. Ward, an accomplished indie rock musician, while his counterpart, the "She" of the equation, Zooey Deschanel, has appeared in films like Elf. A duet the pair recorded in 2006 gave way to larger collaboration, culminating in the making of this record.
The blueprint for Volume One (Merge Records) borrows a bit from Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, a dollop from Loretta Lynn and a smidge of Detroit's girl groups of the 1960s. In the wrong hands, this could result in a triumvirate of preening schmaltz. But much of the time it works, even when it's as insouciant and perkily upbeat as anything an Urban Outfitters clerk might play over the P.A. on a Saturday. In fact, that the music goes down so easily is part of its charm.
M. Ward's tasteful arrangements — a Beatles-gone-Hawaii cover of "I Should Have Known Better," a bleating, woozy little guitar solo on "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?", and an old-tyme field recording-esque treatment of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," — never overpower the group's greatest asset, Deschanel's voice.
It is, after all, her earnest and capable approach that sells the music. Any listener can sense her attachment to the material, and her voice — out-and-out smiley at moments, droll and deadpan in others — often conjures another era entirely, as if a 1950s-era barmaid set down her rag, was handed a microphone, and wandered under a spotlight. In the end, quite fascinating, when you consider recent acting peers that have made the leap to recording, with perhaps not as much dedication or commitment, like Lindsay Lohan, Emmy Rossum, or Taryn Manning (whatever became of Boomkat, anyway?) — Juliette Lewis gets a pass, because clearly, she lives it. But, anyway, here's to Volume Two, whenever it arrives.
