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urgencytobleed
Wow, long time no see, right? Anyway, I'm not in the mood for writing my usual book-length reviews right now but there are a couple of albums I should mention here before it's been six months and I've forgotten all about them. So here's the first one! I'll admit upfront, I may be slightly biased because I don't have many "celebrity" crushes but Zooey Deschanel is probably my biggest. Actually, let's rephrase that, I have several crushes (or obsessions, if you'd rather) but most of them are on people who aren't exactly massively famous so it makes me feel slightly stalker-ish, like I'm obsessing over someone who could live next door to me or something. But Zooey is just famous enough for me to obsess over safely therefore I obsess over her hard. The girl can literally do no wrong in my eyes. That's right, I couldn't even completely hate The Happening because at least it gave me an opportunity to stare at her for a couple of hours. What I'm trying to say is I'm horribly infatuated so from here on out, it's going to be gush city. Ready?
She & Him's first album, appropriately titled Volume One, has easily become one of my favorites and one that I still pull out consistently because I honestly never get tired of it. So, clearly, Volume Two had some pretty huge expectations to live up to for me. When I heard "In the Sun" for the first time, I'll admit, it made me slightly nervous. I liked it enough but it lacked any sort of pizazz or surprise - it was exactly what I'd expect from Zooey and it made me afraid that her music hadn't evolved much in the interval between albums. "Thieves" quelled my fears greatly but it was also a track I'd known for more than a year so it wasn't exactly a good indicator of the newer stuff either. Luckily, the rest of the album is so fantastic that those songs are actually among my least favorites at the moment. In fact, I think I might even be ready to say it's better than Volume One, which is something I didn't think I would be saying at all. The songs here offer more surprises melody-wise and Zooey's voice sounds a thousand times more assured and confident.
Her biggest strength, however, still lies in her vocal arrangements. Often, backing vocals are just there and not really noticeable but on Volume Two, it's the complete opposite - they're absolutely vital to why the songs are so memorable. Tracks like "Don't Look Back," "Home," and "Over It Over Again" are noteworthy for this very reason; without their underlying layers of differing vocal melodies they would be far more typical. Even in the slower songs like "Me and You" and "Brand New Shoes," where the background vocals are much subtler and more sparse, they're still one of the first things you notice. Yet they never detract from the main melody and vocals either. It's the perfect balance, which can be difficult to achieve but Zooey does it with ease every single time.
For me, the weakest links on Volume One are the two covers. I don't hate them but I don't think they're nearly as interesting and memorable as the originals. Because of this, I was wary when I found out there would again be two non-originals on Volume Two. But it turns out I was worrying for nothing because the covers this time are just as good as the rest of the album. "Gonna Get Along Without You Now" (based on the Skeeter Davis version) is almost too adorable to handle and "Ridin' in My Car" (NRBQ) is easily one of the album's best tracks. Though I don't personally have a problem with the more cutesy, affected side of Zooey's voice, it is nice to hear her just sing without trying to sound adorable and coy every once in awhile and "Ridin' in My Car" offers exactly this. I actually get chills because her voice sounds so perfect; she's not belting or showing off her range or anything crazy like that but she sounds so natural and effortless that it's just as impressive as her bigger vocal moments. The a cappella closer, "If You Can't Sleep," is also astounding vocally because she never overdoes it yet sounds so flawlessly clear and controlled.
Buy the album!
P.S. Hey guys, this song/video is even better than the last one. It kind of scares me how obsessed I am with this project/campaign but whatevs. It's awesome music, okay?!?
