Zooey Deschannel and M. Ward are back with Volume Three. It’s their third record together excluding the Christmas covers album and while it’s not exactly ground breaking, you know what you’re getting when these two team up as She and Him.
From the outset, this record is all very sweet and bubblegum pop. This is what’d be playing down your local gelateria as you tucked into a Coke float or a root beer. Guys in sloppy joes, girls in polka dots… You get the point, it’s all a bit Grease.
There’s a little extra dynamic on tracks like ‘Baby’ with M. Ward kicking in on some backing vocals but the first half of this album is all a little too similar. ‘ I Could’ve Been Your Girl’ as we previously featured has all the hallmarks of a classic summer single from it’s singalong chorus, glorious pop hooks and Phil Spector influenced production and backing vocals.
A surprise cover of Blondie’s ‘Sunday Girl’ makes you realise that quite often Deschannel almost nails that mid 70s Debbie Harry with her delivery. Compare it to the likes of ‘X-Offender’ or ‘In The Flesh’ and you might be surprised to hear a little resemblance. If Zooey can snarl her way through something like ‘Rip Her To Shreds’ though we’ll be more than impressed!
The remainder of the record shakes things up a little. ‘Something’s Haunting You’ starts off as more of an acoustic ballad and there are a few covers thrown in for good measure. Zooey’s breathy rendition of ‘Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me’ is the stuff of school discos. It’s all mirrorballs and awkward gropes in gym rooms but that’s the beauty of a She and Him record. It’s not always the music that gets you but the feeling certainly does.