She & Him

Add Date: March 30

Artist: She & Him

Album: Volume Two

Label: Merge

Genre: Folk, pop, olde timey


Comments: "Thieves" might be the best song that She & Him has done yet. It's the first track on the latest record from the duo, which includes indie heartthrob Zooey Deschanel and folk uber-guru M. Ward. True to its name, Volume Two picks up right where 2008's Volume One left off: glorious pop hooks, warm vocals for Zooey, strings and stringed-instruments, and a little bit of heartbreak.

But some things have changed: Zooey is still irresistable, but sounds even more self-assured in both her singing and her writing; M. Ward's production is still steeped in sophistication, but sounds sunnier for some reason; and the covers are a little more obscure. (I mean, NRBQ and Skeeter Davis? Hey, She & Him pull them both off.) The record didn't knock my socks off as immediately as Volume One did, but I know it will. Fifties-style folk-pop gold. Start with "Thieves," "Don't Look Back," and "Sing."