Sugar plum pop...

They like it simple, do She & Him. Just look at their band name. Then take a look at the titles of their two albums, Volume One and the imaginatively titled Volume Two. The transparency of the name, the album titles, all of it, is embedded in their songs too.

Zooey Deschanel – the She of the duo – pipes and chimes her way through songs about falling in love, falling out of love and all the accoutrement that comes with liking that boy.

M. Ward, or Him if you prefer, brings to the table trite production skills and a keen sense of what it is that best suits Deschanel’s lyrical content and vocal prowess.

It’s a tag team performance that worked rather well on Volume One and there’s no surprise to see it at work again with Volume Two.

‘Thieves’ is the 1st song and demonstrates Deschanel’s maturing as a song writer. Its bare bones stuff that shuns the hokey delivery she adopted on Volume One. It’s a great way to start things off.

Another instance in which this LP differs from the first is the fact that M. Ward actually sings solo parts on this album. The first time we see this is on ‘Ridin’ In My Car (NRBQ)’. The song is pretty much She & Him to a tee, offering listeners an idealised American folk/pop hybrid. Ward’s guitars are particularly strong on this one.

In fact, Ward may have just about outshined Deschanel on Volume Two. Bold statements indeed. The arrangements and production on the album have been fine tuned and help to make the LP a delightful listen. It’s good music to do the spring cleaning to, if you catch my drift? If not, listen to ‘Lingering Still’ and you will.

It’s actually quite difficult to dislike the album. It’s not going to be everybody’s cup of tea, but most of the naysayers criticisms are actually the albums strengths. Yes, its sugar plum pop and the influence of Deschanel’s Hollywood ties are their in abundance.

Her performance like delivery and picture perfect lyrical content don’t particularly exist in the real world, but since when has there been a problem with escapism? In the grand scheme of things, there are bigger issues to worry about. So let’s just leave She & Him to exist in their own little pocket. They’re not doing any harm.