She & Him – Volume One

Dynamic Duo

The indie duo of doe-eyed actress and songwriter Zooey Deschanel (She) and musician Matt Ward (Him) are quirky and charming with a whimsical vibe. At first listen they don’t seem to take themselves too seriously, but their sentimentality is sincere and their take is unpretentious. Much of their debut, Volume One, has a nostalgic feel with simpler songs and tracks often reminiscent of country music from an earlier, more earnest time.Deschanel doesn’t execute vocal acrobatics but has an ability to convey genuine sweetness and emotion on tracks like “Take It Back” and “I Thought I Saw Your Face Today.” She sounds like a torch singer from 1940s film noir, believably brokenhearted on “Sentimental Heart”.

Volume One’s old-school country sound really comes through on songs like a cover of The Miracles’ “You Really Got a Hold on Me,” made to sound like it was created even before 1962. The lyrics reflect glimpses back in time as well, as on the track “Got Me” where Deschanel sings, “Got me tucked up in your pocket / Don’t know how you won my heart / ‘Cause I locked it.” On the dreamy “Change is Hard” Deschanel sounds like a young Patsy Cline, crooning “I did him wrong” over a slide guitar, as if She & Him wore cowboy boots to a luau.

There are more pop-friendly songs as well: “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?,” with a bigger, richer sound and toe-tapping melody, and the quirky “This is Not a Test” fit in nicely. Volume One is a good beginning for She & Him. It’s more about the melodies and vocals than any big, slick production, giving them a charm that’s irresistible.