Volume 2
- She & Him
- Merge
Most singers who want to be another Sinatra aim for Frank; for actress Zooey Deschanel, Nancy's the smarter target. The second album by She & Him, her recording project with alt-rock session ace Matt Ward, clearly aspires to the knowing, not-entirely-ironic vibe of Sinatra's work with These Boots Are Made for Walkin' producer Lee Hazlewood. But where Ward delivers the proper blend of guitar twang and string sweetening, Deschanel doesn't quite get that lyrics like "Orpheus melted the heart of Persephone/But I never had yours" are a dumb way to make smart pop. The simple charms of In the Sun and her cover of NRBQ's Ridin' in My Car are closer to the mark, but on the whole, Deschanel comes off like a cowgirl in Ferragamos.