(Merge)
She & Him present a
third album, where they give their take on 60's pop very much
influenced by girl groups like the Shangri-La's. The group is a
collaboration between actress Zooey Deschanel, best know for her role
as a ditsy and naive 20-something in everything she’s ever starred
in, and M. Ward, who has been steadily releasing his own brand of
singer songwriter folk-rock for over ten years under his own name and
as part of the 'super-group' Monsters of Folk with Conor Obesrt and
Jim James.
Album opener I've Got
Your Number, Son sets out She & Him's agenda of simple, catchy
hooks and straight forward lyrics dealing with romance. Its the same
template that informs the rest of the album. The next track, Never
Wanted Your Love, states 'I'm tired of being clever/Everybody's being
clever these days' and she's not trying to be, and its She &
Him's down to earth approach that does manage to draw you in when
they get it right. Amongst the original songs are a few covers,
including Blondie's Sunday Girl and pop classic Hold Me, Thrill Me,
Kiss Me, which prove to be fun but unadventurous takes on the
originals.
The album gets weaker
as it leads into its second half. Together starts out with a somewhat
soulful verse before leading into a chorus that could have come from
a musical number for a straight-to-video Disney film, and Snow Queen
falls flat where Zooey reveals her cold character over an upbeat
rhythm.
This album won't
change your mind about about She & Him if you don't think much of
them already, and really it won't blow you away, but as Zooey sung,
she’s not trying to be clever and Volume 3 instead stands as a
sincere if harmless collection of songs written by two people who are
clearly enamoured with an era of pop song-writing. If you're looking
for a nice collection of songs to soundtrack a lazy sunny afternoon,
then you could do a lot worse than Volume 3.
Originally posted on figure8magazine.co.uk
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