She & Him 'Volume One'

Disappointment. It is everywhere in life.

TracksandGigs has had it's fair share. From Nico Rosberg getting caught up in Lewis "stupid" Hamilton's accident in the Grand Prix yesterday to Planet Clothing in Bedford deciding to stop stocking Carhartt, things often just won't go the way we would like them to. Against all the odds and expectations, the new LP from She & Him has to go down as a disappointment too.

She & Him is a collaboration between actress Zooey Deschanel and singer songwriter, producer and arranger M Ward (who can do no wrong in TracksandGigs' book). Deschanel has written and sung the songs, Ward has arranged and produced them and plays guitars and keys. The preview track 'Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?' was distributed months ago and raised expectations sky high as it is a wonderful, shimmery pop masterpiece with Ward's arrangement sounding Spector-like and Zooey sounding like Nancy Sinatra singing 'Jackson', containing at least three hooks it is quite splendid and I hoped for more of the same on the LP.

Which, to an extent, is what you get. Opener 'Sentimental Heart' is country/pop similar to the Jenny Lewis solo album but is a nice enough lead into 'Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?'. After that,'This Is Not A Test' benefits from an upbeat, stripped down arrangement and a humourous lyric. After that though a certain amount of laziness sets in. Many of the tracks in the mid-section of the album are interchangable country ballads with laid back woozy arrangements and lots of pedal steel. Deschanel sounds less Nancy and more Dolly Parton. Ward keeps things simple music-wise, allowing the songs to breathe and presumably aiming to put the spotlight on lyrics and vocals. Vocally, Deschanel is great. She has a strong, warm voice and puts character into her singing but too many of these songs are standard "you've done me wrong, but I still love you" / "I did you wrong, now I'm lonesome" affairs. Looking at the track list, at least six of the twelve songs follow this theme and it does become dull and a little irritating.

What is frustrating is that when this record is good, it is superb. 'I Was Made For You' is extraordinary. Great fun and hard to believe that it isn't actually a 50s Girl Band standard. 'I Should Have Known Better', a Beatles cover, is a sweet duet, benefiting from M Ward's additional vocals. 'Sweet Darlin'' is more upbeat, with a 60s sound and some great backing vocals.

There is plenty to love here and it is an enjoyable album to listen to on a Summer's day, but in many ways it feels like a missed opportunity. Good music, good arrangement and a good singer singing good songs, but frequently a spark is lacking.

7.0

'Volume One' is out now on Domino.