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She is Zooey Deschanel and she will not stop until she steals your heart even if she has to charm it from you with every note that she sings. Matt Ward is Him, Zooey’s diabolical guitar-wielding sidekick whose production skills make her world domination plans a reality.
You see these two together acting effortlessly cool in interviews as they engage in topics such as origami and cult kids shows and you forget that with every album that they produce they move one step further along their evil musical path. This may seem like an overreaction but when you are faced with a group whose front is the devastatingly big-eyed Zooey Deschanel it is probably advisable to watch yourself as, before you know it, you will have fallen totally in love with her music and all you can do when the bloodshed occurs is to curl up in a corner and stick on your well worn copy of Volume Two for in it lies the manifesto for the new world order.
Ok maybe not, but if Volume Two, the aptly named sophomore album from the folk-indie darlings She & Him, is the music that spurs on the new world, there isn’t much to worry about; in fact there would probably be a high percentage of people who would welcome it. In Volume One this pairing was able to deliver the ultimate musical curveball with an album that for many became the soundtrack for the summer of 2008.
Why was Volume One a curveball I hear you ask? Well Zooey Deschanel is a rather beautiful and somewhat acclaimed actress who garners enough talent and maturity to write amazing pop songs that inspire the joys of spring without sounding too saccharin or clichéd. This is the sort of thing that should not happen, such a stunt should have allowed for enough of a comedic edge to fuel American sketch show comedy for the next few months until becoming either a guilty pleasure or a rather uncomfortable memory. How glad are we that this did not happen.
The sound of Volume Two has not changed too much since its predecessor but as an album it does feel a lot smarter and purposeful. The now obligatory two covers meld seamlessly into the original material whereas before they jarred to the point of sounding disposable but here the two covers of ‘Ridin’ In My Car’ and ‘Gonna Get Along Without You Now’ are perfectly pitched and suited to her voice. Amongst the original material early favourites are likely to be the opening twosome of ‘Thieves’ and ‘In The Sun’, the former of these allowing Zooey to show off her voice to the point where the final 30 seconds are guaranteed to give to Goosebumps.
Songs such as ‘Lingering Still’ and ‘Home’ will take longer to grow but in cases such as these there is real rewards in multiple listens since it is only then where the complexities emerge. As a song ‘Home’ is incredibly intricate with its layered use of a string section, ukulele solos and whispered vocals that may not be fully appreciated upon the first listen. A real highlight of the second listen is the final track ‘If You Can’t Sleep’ where nothing but Zooey’s soothing voice can be heard as it is layered on top of each other in the absence of any other instrumental backing.
Volume Two has marked an improvement in the sound of this group where any slight step into the overtly twee is immediately counteracted by the incessant charms of both Zooey Deschanel and Matt Ward. Like the album that came before it, this is destined to become a favourite for those warm summer walks or even when working in the sun to build that bomb shelter for when this duo eventually takes over.
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