She & Him: M. Ward (vocals, guitar, guitars, slide guitar, keyboards, electric bass); Zooey Deschanel (vocals, piano, keyboards, xylophone, percussion); Mike Coykendall (guitar, guitars, electric bass, percussion); Paul Brainerd (steel guitar); Tom Hagerman (strings); Rachel Blumberg (percussion).
Personnel: Mike Mogis (steel guitar, percussion); Paul Brainard (steel guitar); Peter Broderick (strings); Adam Selzer (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Mike Coykendall; Mike Mogis.
Recording information: ARC, Omaha, NE (2006-2007); Blue Rooms, Portland, OR (2006-2007); Type Foundry, Portland, OR (2006-2007).
Generally, it's a good idea to be wary of actors who make pop albums, but every rule has at least one exception, and She and Him's VOLUME ONE is an unfettered delight. A collaboration between actress Zooey Deschanel (ALMOST FAMOUS, ELF) and prolific indie-folk musician M. Ward, She and Him is not merely a case of a cult musician using a more famous name as an entrée into the musical mainstream: in fact, Deschanel is the primary songwriter here and sings all the lead vocals barring a pair of duets, and she scores impressively on both fronts.
Deschanel turns out to be a gifted pop songwriter with a knack for penning crisp 1960s-style pop songs like the glorious first single, "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" and singing them in a flirty, country-inflected style that recalls the likes of Jackie DeShannon and early Linda Ronstadt. Ward and an all-star band of fellow Portland, Oregon, indie-ites, including the Decemberists' Rachel Blumberg on drums, set Deschanel's songs and vocals in arrangements perfectly balanced between Phil Spector bombast and indie-rock cool. The entire album is a joyous, enchanting listen.
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