She & Him
Volume Two
Merge Records
Rating: 4
OK, I’ll admit it: I’ve got a major girl crush on Zooey Deschanel. With her charming vocals laced with folksy sing-a-longs and bouncy piano melodies, who wouldn’t?
Combining M. Ward’s vision and production with Deschanel’s vintage sound, She & Him makes a notable sequel to their previous album Volume One.
The songs are deceivingly simple, with Deschanel and M. Ward’s “oohh”s and “lalala”s serving as their own instrumental in some aspects. There is a timeless quality that M. Ward and Deschanel borrow from a previous era. Listening to Volume Two is a lot like looking at a pastoral impressionist painting – both evoking a delicate yet charismatic appeal. The album definitely puts you in a cheerful, “fa la la” mood.
Give these tracks a listen: “In the Sun,” “Thieves” “Brand New Shoes”
For Fans Of: M. Ward, The Charlatans
– Uyen Cao
