I developed a wicked girl crush on Zooey Deschanel after seeing her in Cameron Crowe's incredible rock n' roll film Almost Famous oh so many years ago. Seriously, that came out in 2000 - it's been a DECADE! Her part was small, but she was adorable. Shortly after seeing her in the now Christmas movie staple, Elf, in which she revealed to the world that she had an incredible set of pipes I learned that she had her own musical cabaret act that performed around L.A. AND she was rumoured to play Janis Joplin in a biopic (which never came to fruition). It was no surprise to me then, when she joined forces with M. Ward to form the band She & Him.
Their first album, simply titled Volume 1, was very good - a sweet amalgam of sunshiny California pop, the classic girl group sound, and an occasionally jazzy vocalist vibe. It was fun to hear Zooey singing her own lyrics, although sometimes her voice sounded a little tentative as if she wasn't entirely sure she should be sharing her songs with the world.
Now the duo has released their second album, aptly titled, Volume 2 and its' not just good - it's FANTASTIC. Zooey's tentativeness is gone; she's now a fully formed and confident singer. It isn't a departure from the first album, it's the same sunshiny, girl groupy, jazzy pop music, but it's more consistent, more fully realized, more layered, just MORE MORE MORE. It's music that makes me HAPPY. And that's the best review I can give anything.
