You definitely know Zooey Deschanel. Whether it's from Almost Famous, Elf, that weird as hell re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz on the Sci-Fi channel, or Jason Schwartzman's ex-arm candy, you know that lovely face. You might also know M. Ward, perhaps the less-recognizable, equally talented singer-songwriter. But do you know them as She & Him, a collaboration written in the stars? If not, we need to have a little chat.
There is something more than familiar about the songs on Volume One, the duo's first release. Deschanel, who wrote all but three of the album's thirteen tracks (a cover of The Beatles' "I Should Have Known Better", perennial favorite "You Really Got A Hold On Me", and album-closer "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"), is like a little bit of each well-loved female singer wrapped up in one. Helen Reddy, Ronnie Spector, Karen Carpenter... Deschanel fills a void that's been missing in, at the risk of sounding as cliched as their lyrics, the Danity Kane world we live in.
Volume One is a scrapbook, though not necessarily chronological or about the same guy, of what it's like to be in love. "Sentimental Heart" shows us a jilted Zooey, "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" shows us a flirty Zooey, "Change Is Hard" shows us an "I done him wrong" Zooey, and so on and so forth, covering the spectrum of lurve. And who hasn't been there, in some instance?
The album is a little bit country, a little bit girl group, a little bit sad, a little bit sunshiny. Zooey on piano and banjo, Matt on guitar, some strings, and a sad, sad steel guitar. No synths, no over-production. For an emotion so powerful, this is an album about love that doesn't leave you weeping in solitude or vomiting pink bunnies and rainbows. Deschanel had these songs written for years, and they're just surfacing now? It's like her proverbial diary, and mine, set to music. There's something all too real about that, and about this album. It's finding camaraderie in the human emotion.
I don't mean to gush or wax poetic. The album is by no means perfect. Surprisingly, I agree with Pitchfork for once when I say Deschanel's lyrics can be charmingly clunky and childlike. Clocking in at just over thirty-six minutes, I find myself, album over, wanting more. Although the album is a tribute to the greatest musical classics of all time, I wonder what the two could do if they branched out, exploring different genres, different instruments, different artistic influences. Volume One is absolutely Deschanel's baby. As a fan of M. Ward, I'd like to see him a little more in the forefront. A little more She & Him Rocking Out Collectively, a little less She, & Him in the Background.
That said, it IS just Volume One. In an article on the duo in this month's NYLON magazine, Deschanel says, "The nice thing about Volume One is that we had no preconceived notions of how things were going to go, and I want it to happen that way again." Ward chimes in, "Zooey has a lot of songs. And there are about a million more that we want to cover. So I think it's safe to say that Volume Two is right around the corner." Let's hope.
Since we've already given you "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?", here's my other favorite track on the album, for your listening pleeeeeeasure.
She & Him - Change Is Hard
Buy the album HERE!
Love, Lindsay
Source: NYLON Magazine, "The Story So Far..." by April Long, April 2008, nylonmag.com.
1 comment:
She's also in Big Trouble. That movie rocks my socks.
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