I really enjoyed She & Him’s debut album, Volume One, but didn’t get into its follow-up (Volume Two, naturally). Hearing today’s random selection, I’m not sure why.
This is the same kind of retro-catchy ear candy that M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel perfected on their debut. Maybe it’s the sort of thing that quickly wears out its welcome. Maybe listening to too many She & Him albums would be like eating at Johnny Rockets every night.
She & Him (the indie pop group consisting of actress-singer-songwriter Zooey Deschanel and singer-songwriter M. Ward) has come to symbolize a certain precious, hipster mindset. It’s music for people who know every line of 500 Days of Summer (also featuring Ms. Deschanel), people who wear dryly ironic t-shirts, people who wear hats to parties.
Deschanel, who writes all of the band’s songs (save for a few covers), is an unconventional beauty with an old-fashioned voice and a penchant for 50s and 60s doo-wop and girl-group pop. It would be easy to dismiss her, and this group, as completely shallow, picking over the bones of classic song styles for the sake of looking cool. At times I’ve been tempted to do exactly that.
Meet Me In Montauk 