Released - 3/23/10
Label - Merge Records
BLURB - I thought the one girl from this band looked familiar. Turns out it's Zooey Deschanel (from the film 'Almost Famous,' where she played William's older sister). If I recall correctly she was pushing Led Zeppelin and The Who on her younger brother, was a druggy and ran away from home. She was also a supporting actor in 'Elf' with Will Ferrell. Now she's a singer-songwriter...who knew? She's actually not half bad as this is now her second major release with She & Him and she is receiving a fair amount of accolade. "Volume Two" fuses both acoustic folk and pop with shades of Detroit-Motown in a way that is unpretentious and extremely accessible. There's no doubt the freshmen girls at NYU are loving this album, even if they won't admit it.
Rating - 7 out of 10
FULL STORY - Rounding out the "Him" side of She & Him is M. Ward - a guy I've never really listened to, but was constantly being told to listen to. So everyone can stop telling me that now. Musically, the album is very breezy and has laid back summer feel to it. I could sip lemonade to this. Lyrically, it's a bit hard to relate to. Case and point - the opener 'Thieves.' This track gently flows through the air with light acoustic guitars and Deschanel crooning in and out of melodies. The song gets periodic boosts from xylophones and big string sections, often highlighting the choruses and other portions of the track. This is most noticeable as the song draws to an end and the strings really take over providing for a powerful ending. However, I can't really throw myself into the song as the ending lyrics are:
"No that won't stop me crying over you. No that won't stop me crying over you. No that won't stop me crying over you."
Tough for a 24 year old guy whose favorite bands include Lotus and STS9, to get into. I'd love if the song featured something more uplifting or positive, or maybe some kind of story. Anything but a girl that may or may not be crying over you.
The second track 'In the Sun' is another pop number that once again brings in a fair amount of strings and features a piano for the main riff. Unlike 'Thieves,' the lyrics are much more universal and focus on getting through the typical rigors and letdowns of life. Providing some depth and momentum to the track are a couple of uptempo guitar solos that slightly push 'In the Sun' into the blues and rock realm. Slightly.
'Don't Look Back' delves off into some Motown character with an incredibly catchy chorus that is filled with complimenting background vocals. Deschanel has a somewhat limited vocal range, but the addition of the backing vocals and string sections transform her voice into an intoxicating display of notes...
Side note: I have a theory that no girls in indie bands actually have good voices. Here's my actual theory. Girls that sing in indie bands, sing in indie bands, because they want to be seen as singing in indie bands. They're really into underground music and the arts scene and are too cool for most - they have the desire to sing but lack the chops. If they could actually sing with the best of 'em, some label would have already swooped in and signed them to some ridiculous recording contract. This is my main beef another indie-pop band, Twin Sister. They are a great indie band, but they have a girl singer, in my opinion, just because she's a girl and she convinced them to let her join the band. I've voiced my thoughts on this before (5/18 @ 11:49am).
Quite the sidebar. But do people see my point? Deschanel is not bad by any stretch of the word, but her range does limit her a bit.
Back to the review. 'Over It Over Again' is a very blues-pop, piano heavy track that may serve as the highlight of the album. Everything is clicking here. There's a little Motown, a little pop, a little rock, a little blues, a little folk...pretty much every genre short of techno. The hooks are all well constructed and get stuck in your head, and all the while you're not even noticing the background harmonies and guitar riffs.
The rest of record follows suit with strokes of folk and pop surfacing up around every corner. It's calming and relaxing, fun at certain points and introspective at others. This album is probably better than I would give it credit for, but it's just not my cup of tea. If I was a 20 year old girl about to go study in the library at Pratt or NYU, I'd be queuing "Volume Two" up on the old iPod. But I'm not...sorry.
Tracks
1.) Thieves
2.) In the Sun
3.) Don't Look Back
4.) Ridin' In My Car
5.) Lingering Still
6.) Me and You
7.) Gonna Get Along Without You Now
8.) Home
9.) I'm Gonna Make It Better
10.) Sing
11.) Over It Over Again
12.) Brand New Shoes
13.) If You Can't Sleep
1.) Thieves
2.) In the Sun
3.) Don't Look Back
4.) Ridin' In My Car
5.) Lingering Still
6.) Me and You
7.) Gonna Get Along Without You Now
8.) Home
9.) I'm Gonna Make It Better
10.) Sing
11.) Over It Over Again
12.) Brand New Shoes
13.) If You Can't Sleep
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