She & Him - Volume Two

As the title implies, this is the second batch of good old-fashioned balladry from indie film star Zooey Deschanel and her musical accomplice, singer-songwriter and all-round über-talent Matthew Ward. It should be a marriage made in heaven: Deschanel has a honeyed voice and stunning beauty, while Ward brings the musical pedigree and impeccable taste. 

But unlike most of Deschanel’s onscreen exploits, for some reason Volume Two doesn’t quite work out as it should. This reviewer once wrote that M. Ward couldn’t make a bad album if he tried, but he comes perilously close here. Deschanel specialises in old-timey, stately ballads – this is not-quite-alt. country, with the same sort of designs as Jenny Lewis And The Watson Twins’ well-received Rabbit Fur Coat – but the production values here err just too close to homogenous and bland to really engage the listener.

Which is a shame really, especially as it all starts so promisingly: ‘Thieves’ is reminiscent of Jens Lekman, and sets a gorgeous scene, but things then start to unravel over a fairly generic first half. ‘Ridin’ in My Car’ is too hokey by half, and the lyrics are nothing short of gloopy, opening with the lines: “Do you remember last summer when we had the chance / To find each other, start making romance?” (on a curious side note, anyone familiar with Dublin musical comedy trio Dead Cat Bounce might find the tune bizarrely reminiscent of their number that opens with “Do you remember that summer when we killed that guy?”). Deschanel’s voice also has a tendency to veer just the wrong side of sweet and ice-cream gooey – there just aren’t enough rough edges.

Still, things pick up steadily, and the day is saved by a bar-raising last third. ‘Home’ is fantastic, with Zooey’s vocals benefiting from lashings of reverb, and Ward’s sparky electric guitar adding some spice to proceedings. ‘Sing’ and ‘I’m Gonna Make It Better’ are equally enjoyable, while ‘Brand New Shoes’ is pure Jenny Lewis, right down to the clothing-as-allegory imagery.

Overall then, while certainly no classic, Volume Two offers a more than credible central performance from Deschanel, while M. Ward’s reputation remains intact – just.