She and Him, Volume Two

By Jeff Katz

“… Socks it to you so hard”

Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward

Who doesn’t love Zooey Deschanel? Big blue eyes, cute little nose, a kewpie doll framed in killer bangs. And she’s a great songwriter with a beautiful voice? As George Harrison said, “It’s all too much.”

Most of us first caught Zooey’s singing in Elf. Her delightful duet with Will Ferrell on “Baby It’s Cold Outside” was a knockout scene. She met musical maven M. Ward during the filming of 2007’s The Go-Getter. A pretty good indie film, which suffers mostly because ZD appears via her cell phone for much of the flick, it maintains a solid place in history as the origin of She & Him. M. was working on the soundtrack and hooked up with Zooey, who, it turned out, was a secret songstress. They turned out She & Him, Volume One, the absolute, hands down best album of 2008. It’s no celebrity ego-trip. (For one of those, go here: (http://katzkomments.blogspot.com/2009/03/why-i-listen-to-terrible-celebrity.html)

With Volume Two, the pair builds on that solid foundation. Zooey’s voice is sweet, a bit of a country twang and a hint of breathiness. There are moments when you can hear her inhaling; it’s precious but not cloying. The songs are irrefutably fresh, indisputably retro, utterly timeless. The Wall of Sound that greets you on the opening cut “Thieves” sets the Phil Spector-y tone, with a dash of Sam Cooke’s “Cupid” thrown in.

It’s impossible to recapture that first hearing and discovery of Volume One. Zooey’s writing is not as strong on this sophomore effort, though her “Over It Over Again,” is one of the three best songs on the album. Only Zooey Deschanel can sing “Why do I always want to sock it to you hard?” and get away with it without sounding dopey. The other two highlights are, “Gonna Get Along Without You Now” and “Ridin’ In My Car,” both written by outsiders. The latter showcases M. Ward as a vocal equal. On most songs he is decidedly lower case. That tune also has a very nice quasi- “Dear Prudence” riff. The only drag is the final cut, “If You Can’t Sleep,” a creepy sounding lullaby with background droning that made me think of the hum surrounding the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

On my initial go-round, I found the songs not as immediately catchy and memorable as the first batch that appeared in ’08. I don’t believe that any more. It’s a great album, nearly the equal of Volume One. There’s a line in “Me and You” that grabbed me. “You’ve got to be kind to yourself.” Words to live by and something I seriously need to hear once in a while.

Go buy both She & Him CDs. It’s one way you can treat yourself well.