She & Him – Thieves
March 1st, 2010 | by Jason Grishkoff | published in alternative, folk, indie rock | 14 comments
Click image to download full album
Sounds like: Tilly and the Wall, Jenny Lewis, The Moldy Peaches
What’s so good?
I am pretty ambivalent about She & Him. I like them; I dislike them. From day to day, I never know how I feel about them. I have legitimate complaints about the band (they are far too cute for their own good), but I also hold grudges against them that are patently unfair (they are fronted by a movie star). And although I liked their debut album enough, I wasn’t clamoring for another outing from the duo. But goddam if “Thieves,” the newest song to leak from the album, doesn’t confuse the situation a bit. The song is 4 minutes of perfect pop. It splits the difference between ballads from the 1950s and AM country from the 60s, and is a terrific combination that works better for the band than anything else they’ve done.
Deschanel’s voice sounds markedly different. While she once sang directly from her diaphragm, she’s now squeezing out the song from the bottom of her throat. The trick lends some sobbed-out sorrow to her heartbreaking lyrics. I don’t know if it makes me excited to hear the rest of the album (“In the Sun” is pretty forgettable . . .), but at least I have a song to lean on if I remain indecisive about She and Him.
Vol 2 is due on March 23rd on Merge.
Elsewhere on the web:
myspace | myspace.com/sheandhim
March 1st, 2010 at 5:10 pm (#)
Scott Votel of No Genre thinks the newest song to leak from She & Him’s newest album confuses the situation a bit http://bit.ly/b2ac3L
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
March 1st, 2010 at 10:29 pm (#)
Your “legitimate” complaint about them is “they are far too cute for their own good”? I don’t think you know what that word means.
March 1st, 2010 at 11:06 pm (#)
What’s illegitimate about thinking that the coy sad country girl act is a little too precious sometimes?
March 2nd, 2010 at 1:23 pm (#)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QkYK9nHBns
An awesome music video!
Indie shuffle stuff.
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:11 pm (#)
My relationship with She & Him remains complicated. Sadly, this song didn’t really clear things up for me. However, I do appreciate that I’m not the only one who flip-flops on this duo. =)
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:06 am (#)
Yeah, I’m gonna back up Jack on this one. The question of an artist’s “cuteness” – whether they cultivate it or not; whether it’s “for their own good” or not – is (or should be) pretty much a zero-consideration when the music is there, which in the case of She & Him is pretty much inarguable. Besides, one would have to be the biggest killjoy in popdork history to start writing off coy sad country girls, or anyone who has an “act”.
March 3rd, 2010 at 7:28 am (#)
I agree on the cuteness getting irksome. This also applies to her films (see: (500) Days of Summer). It all seems very calculated and overdone, unnecessary for such a pretty girl. Also, I find Deschanel’s vocals a little halting and off. She has an interesting sound but she needs voice lessons. Thanks for being the sole blog to admit any of this.
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:44 am (#)
I’m not going to argue against the killjoy claim. Wet blanketing a frequently charming act is a classic killjoy maneuver. But, I would argue that image is inextricably linked to the values promoted by a band. Image is part and parcel of a band’s sound, and at this point in rock history, it’s impossible *not* to cultivate an image. This is why the Oakley shades that Nickelback wear seem to be an embodiment of their corny misogyny. So, when a band projects an image based entirely on a blank parody, a pastiche of a style popular over 40 years ago, it’s hard for me not to be a little irked by thevalue placed on a quaint reading of pop history. She and Him’s image is based entirely around Zooey Deschanel’s appeal and charm (which, admittedly, isn’t in short supply). But Deschanel’s image *is* her cuteness; therefore, the band values this trait above most others.
Also (let’s go for broke here), there’s something troubling about She and Him’s willfull placement of Deschanel in a perpetual state of victimhood or dependency. Deschanel is *always* either heartbroken because she doesn’t have her man or exhilirated by the presence of her man.
It’s worth repeating, though, that I fucking love this song. I think it works because they are able to transcend their own pigeonholing.
This is great; I’m having fun.
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:30 pm (#)
I’m with Caroline on this. All cuteness aside, Deschanel’s vocals need some training. She could be great, but she seems to settle for good. Maybe this is where Scott feels she rides on her cuteness to pull the music through?
March 3rd, 2010 at 7:10 pm (#)
I think that’s a big part of it, Jess. She has all the potential to be a very good singer, but she frequently settles for adorable instead of breathtaking.
April 22nd, 2010 at 7:47 pm (#)
I love this song so much it makes me cry so I was totally stoked that they would be playing Coachella this year. Not only did this song completely fall short of my expectations when they played it, but the entire time I was wishing I could be listening to the album-version.
May 1st, 2010 at 7:35 am (#)
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