Following up the aptly titled Volume One with an album that has equally fitting title of Volume Two, Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward show that She & Him is not a short lived vanity project for Ms. Deschanel, nor a mere dalliance for Mr. Ward. This time around, She & Him have the benefit (and curse) of knowing that people are receptive of their music (following the success of their debut album) and with that in mind are able to possibly relax a little bit with their second album. Considering the almost seamless genre shifting that the duo ably maneuvered the first time around, Volume Two has quite a few possibilities open from these two musicians.
For Volume Two, it seems as though She & Him is moving away from the tinge of country that peppered their previous effort and moves more toward a more fifties style girl group sound without being completely derivative (M. Ward's contributions see to that), but for the most part, the album is not so far removed from the sound that made the duo's first album. "In the Sun" is a bouncy affair with an infectious vocal hook in the chorus, complete with a call and answer with a chorale element which adds that little something extra to the song. The cute sounding song, "Don't Look Back" is another great track from the record with its up-tempo and excellent string accompaniment compliment Deschanel's vocals rather well. I do indeed love "Lingering Still" with its great chorus, excellent vocal arrangements, and quirky instrumentation; the song has a ton of character that draws me back to listening to it quite a bit. Other excellent tracks such "I'm Gonna Make It Better", "Sing, and "Over It Again" keep the album moving without a let down toward the end of the record which might get stronger as it goes (but that is subjective talk there).
She & Him produce a solid sophomore effort with Volume Two , but for some reason this album just does not hit as much as its predecessor; the melodies are there and so is the strong arrangements by M. Ward, but it just seems to be missing something that I cannot put my finger on the reason why it just does not. Certainly, this record has its share of excellent songs, but it does not quite hold up to the overall impact of their first album. Still with that said, She & Him's Volume Two is a good record that still deserves some attention because the most endearing quality of the duo (their out of time sound) is still completely intact and in full effect.
