The dream team of M Ward and Zooey Deschanel are back with their second set of rose-tinted tunes, channeling the country gold of yesteryear into pop confections too sweet to resist. 2ser Subscribers can win a copy of this album all week on Breakfast, Overdrive and Static.
Written by Zooey Deschanel (She) and produced by M. Ward (Him), ‘Volume Two’ is the highly anticipated follow up to the duo’s critically acclaimed 2008 debut album ‘Volume One’.
She & Him created one of 2008’s most memorable recordings in ‘Volume One’, an album of charming, bittersweet pop songs flavoured by M Ward expansive, lush, sun-soaked production and Zooey’s timeless, pitch-perfect voice. Upon release, the record was met with the deafening roar of praise, and following in the footsteps of duos like The Carpenters and Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood before them, She & Him very quickly established themselves amongst pop’s finest two-piece collaborators. They are as comfortable and complementary a musical pair as Les Paul and Mary Ford and hearing them again on Volume Two feels like getting together with two old friends
With eleven original tracks and two expertly selected covers (Ridin’ In My Car by NRBQ and Skeeter Davis’ Gonna Get Along Without You Now) ‘Volume Two’ is bigger and bolder than its predecessor. As to be expected, M. Ward’s signature reverb-tinged guitar lines are perfectly complimented by Zooey’s incredible voice, but this time around the harmonies have grown more angelic and dynamic, the string arrangements more dramatic, and the song writing even sharper and more confident. But, as with Volume One, the prevailing mood is bittersweet, dreamy, and romantic.
Volume Two was recorded in Los Angeles (where Zooey lives) and Portland (home to M. Ward). Joining them for these sessions was engineer, bassist and occasional backing vocalist Mike Coykendall. “I do the bulk of the harmonies, then Matt will fill in some sonic space that I just cannot fill because he has that incredibly raspy, soulful voice... We cover different emotional ground”, Zooey told the NY Times, continuing “I think we both went for it a little bit more, so to speak...I definitely got more ambitious with my backing vocal arrangements. That’s a real passion for me.” While working on ‘Volume Two’, both Zooey and M. Ward have kept themselves busy with solo endeavours. In addition to contributing vocals to Jenny Lewis’ album ‘ Acid Tongue’ Zooey stared in the hit indie film ‘(500) Days of Summer’ (She & Him contributing a cover of The Smiths’ Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want for the film’s soundtrack). M. Ward released his fifth solo album, the lauded ‘Hold Time’, and collaborated with friends Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis and Jim James to release their debut collaborative album under the name Monsters of Folk. Yet despite their busy schedules, when the pockets of downtime appeared Zooey and M. Ward jumped on them, working in studios in Los Angeles and Portland whenever they could to bring the newest batch of songs Zooey had written to fruition.
Described by Zooey as a “feel-good album” ‘Volume Two’ is bolstered by rich harmonies, sweet-assugar melodies and Brill Building choruses. From sweeping opener Thieves and first single In the Sun (featuring guest vocals from Tilly and the Wall), to the tempo and mood shifts of Home and the vocalsonly, hymn-like closer If You Can’t Sleep, ‘Volume Two’ shimmers from start to finish.
