Word: deschanel
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...guess the type of music made by actress Zooey Deschanel, the wide-eyed crush of every indie kid who still uses the term record collection, you'd probably guess something feminine and retro. And you'd be right. But what you might not suspect is how downright good she is at it. (See the 10 greatest electric-guitar players...
...Deschanel and musician M. Ward have been performing under the unassuming name She & Him since they released their debut album, Volume One, in 2008. "The first copies didn't even have my name on them," says Deschanel. "If no one ever found out that it was me, I wouldn't have cared." It worked. Critics ignored the star's involvement and focused on the music: relaxed songs sung in Deschanel's achingly tender voice, bringing to mind '60s girl groups and the Nashville sound...
Volume Two, which features 11 songs penned by Deschanel (plus two covers) and produced by Ward, has a similar tone but ups the complexity of the arrangements. "It's much more difficult to play live," says Deschanel. "We're in rehearsals now, and I'm like, Oh, man, why didn't I write simpler songs?" The result, however, is clean and intimate--the sound of a duo making music as much for themselves as for an audience. The first single, "In the Sun," is upbeat and danceable, but the standout track is "Thieves"--a brokenhearted love song so timeless that...
...times, however, complacency creeps even into Deschanel’s vocals. On “Gonna Get Along Without You Now,” Deschanel and her backup singers can’t even muster the requisite sass to convincingly pull off lyrics such as, “Uh-huh, mm-hmm / Gonna get along without you now.” Singing too sweetly, she fails to provide any edge to the track, and any possible feeling in it slips away...
Technically, there’s nothing wrong with “Volume Two;” Deschanel and Ward have produced a pretty, well-written record. But, as a second album, it could have gone a lot further. Their retro shtick works to an extent, but prevents them from reaching any musical or emotional heights. It’s light music at best, resolutely unwavering from its affect of bittersweet, upbeat melodies. She & Him’s vagueness ultimately fails to arouse any real feeling, leaving this album a disappointing failure...