Music Video Monday: She & Him's "In the Sun"

Track: In the Sun

Artist: She & Him

Album: Volume Two

Year: 2010

Without going any further, you should know that the video for She & Him's "In the Sun" is incredibly hokey. That being said, it's that hokiness which makes the duo the charming, pseudo-throwback it is. Fittingly, this visual presentation takes place in a high school, supposedly circa the 1960s. If it weren't for the countless hallway song-and-dance numbers we've been subjected to over the years, from Grease to High School Musical, perhaps this one would resonate even more. Once again though, the fact that said concept is so tired somehow makes it more interesting when used by She & Him here.

The fact that Zooey Deschanel screams 1960s wherever she goes helps matters. While most female recording artists would look slightly out of place dressed in the more conservative school dresses and other outfits of the era, Deschanel fits in perfectly. The fact that she is an actress also pays big dividends as the song-and-dance never seems oversold. Instead, her leading a group of supposed teens in song just looks right, and M. Ward's persona as the artistic loner airs out just as well. Sometimes a video and a song are just a perfect fit. Check it out for yourself below.

[Previously on Animal Noises: Pre-Screening: She & Him's Volume Two]

Pre-Screening: She & Him's Volume Two

Album: Volume Two

Artist: She & Him

Label: Merge

Rating: 7.5

It's probable that She & Him will fail to ever break new ground. The M. Ward/Zooey Deschanel project will never test any other sound, mood or subject matter. Nor are they likely to release a record unless they’ve got some good material to work with. For better or for worse, you know exactly what you’re getting from them-- no more, no less. It can be comforting at times, especially in a sea of artists who change their stripes so often.

And yet, this seems to work perfectly for the duo. So long as Deschanel continues to lend her sultry, classic voice to Ward's instrumental stylings, this cycle could conceivably continue going on forever. Or at least for now, until the conclusion of their second album Volume Two.

There is very little difference from their previous effort when you first begin exploring Volume Two. What more can be accomplished with the aforementioned pieces? Still, the duo have actually managed to extrapolate their seemingly closed and confined sound into something even more polished and sentimental than the last record. Deschanel’s voice frolics with the hopes of young love. Her gushing persona as a young girl musing about boys is simply irresistible, from the bopping opener “Thieves,” to closer “If You Can’t Sleep.” The ladder of which may very well borrow most of its premise from Bing Crosby’s “Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep),” but in a project like this, sometimes borrowing from classic tunes can be helpful and even encouraged in bits and pieces.

It’s that glowing charm that really carries Volume Two, even more so than its mostly-cheery predecessor. Of course, while increasingly extensive orchestration by Ward also lends to a much more grown-up and solid sound, one can’t help but notice Deschanel’s newfound fifth gear in the radiance department-- see "Lingering Still," amongst others for examples.

Amidst the breezy, open paths and winding, romantic roads we travel here, one problem does occur however. Repetition. For a large majority of the album, the two employ a pretty standard verse-chorus setup and three-minute runtime, with echoing Motown-style backing vocals for good measure. “Me and You,” “Sing,” “In the Sun”– you name it, the song will have those same elements. Besides some slight breaks such as “Home” and the aforementioned closer, many tracks can end up merging together. Since this wasn't the case on Volume One, we see it as the slightly unfortunate side effect to better production and maturity.

Still, it’s hard to fault She & Him for their songs appearing too similar to one another. Ward and Deschanel have never strived to be more than just a pleasant little pet project that (at times) resembled the 1960s, and that’s what Volume Two presented itself as. Such execution, even of their modest goals, can be appreciated and in this case, moderately celebrated. She & Him never try too hard, and it shows in how easy and pleasant an experience it is to listen to their music. Just take it for what it is, and chances are you'll enjoy what you hear.

Best Track: "Thieves" (via Pitchfork)

[Previously on Animal Noises: John's Track of the Week: She & Him's "Thieves"]

John's Track of the Week: She & Him's "Thieves"

Song: Thieves

Artist: She & Him

Album: Volume Two

Rating: 7.0

Everyone's favorite male-female folk duo are back in 2010. She & Him, aka Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward (as if you needed such a clarification) will be releasing their second collaboration together, appropriately entitled Volume Two. Surely you all recall how successful Volume One went over, with its catchy mix of Deschanel originals and various lovelorn covers. And then there was Deschanel's 2009-- an extreme encroachment into the hipster universe if I've ever seen one. If starring in indie film (500) Days of Summer wasn't enough, she also contributed to the soundtrack, and married Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard. Quite a year for the young actress, to say the least.

The introduction to Volume Two is the swooning, elaborate "Thieves." A ballad lamenting over lost love, it brings in a conservative orchestra backing to really get the point across that this collaboration was supposed to take place about 30-40 years ago. The wishy-washy, boy-meets-girl vibe that Deschanel and Ward have managed to keep up is atypical of today's scene, becoming a welcome break from less-straightforward explorations into pop and rock conventions. You'll want to welcome them back into your life with this track. And be sure to pick up She & Him's Volume Two, out March 23 via Merge.

"Thieves" -- She & Him (via Pitchfork)

[Previously on Animal Noises: New She & Him Not-Quite-Video, "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?"]

Best Albums of 2009: A Recap

Below is the full list of albums we covered this December as our best of the year. If you missed any of these, feel free to just follow the links over, for a full review.

Animal Noises' Best Albums of 2009

1. Veckatimest -- Grizzly Bear

2. Merriweather Post Pavilion -- Animal Collective

3. Farm -- Dinosaur Jr.

4. Hometowns -- The Rural Alberta Advantage

5. Noble Beast -- Andrew Bird

6. Bitte Orca -- Dirty Projectors

7. Man on the Moon: The End of Day -- Kid Cudi

8. Manners -- Passion Pit

9. Aim and Ignite -- fun.

10. Album -- Girls

11. Hold Time -- M. Ward

12. Person to Person -- Foreign Born

13. People Are Soft -- The Swimmers

14. Wilco (The Album) -- Wilco

15. Wavvves -- Wavves

16. No More Stories... -- Mew

17. Bromst -- Dan Deacon

18. Now I Am Champion -- Sister Suvi

19. Hombre Lobo -- Eels

20. Welcome Joy -- The Cave Singers

21. Beast Rest Forth Mouth -- Bear In Heaven

22. Here We Go Magic -- Here We Go Magic

23. Get Color -- HEALTH

24. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix -- Phoenix

25. Dark Night of the Soul -- Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse

26. God Help the Girl -- God Help the Girl

27. Tentacles -- Crystal Antlers

28. The Blueprint 3 -- Jay-Z

29. Eskimo Snow -- Why?

30. Junior -- Röyksopp

Best of 2009: Album Artwork

Album artwork is arguably the most important aspect of a musical release next to the music itself. In many cases, it's our first impression of what we are about to hear, and a visual companion to the recording. Because of this, we have compiled the best of 2009. The selections below were chosen because of their visual appeal, in addition to how well they work alongside their sonic counterparts.

10. Person to Person, Foreign Born

9. Fluorescent Black, Anti-Pop Consortium

8. Scars, Basement Jaxx

7. Creaturesque, Throw Me The Statue

6. Merriweather Post Pavillion, Animal Collective

5. The Smith Westerns, The Smith Westerns

4. Farm, Dinosaur Jr.

3. Hold Time, M. Ward

2. Veckatimest, Grizzly Bear

1. Tentacles, Crystal Antlers

[Previously on Animal Noises: Best of 2009: Movie Soundtracks]

Best Albums of 2009: #11, M. Ward's Hold Time

Rank: #11

Album: Hold Time

Artist: M. Ward

Label: Merge

M. Ward's latest endeavor, Hold Time, is nothing new for the artist. He's made a living the last few years creating instrumental-heavy guitar music that strikes the balance between modern and classic sounds. With each album he's put out, this ability has seemingly gotten more and more pronounced, as one can tell by 2008's She & Him collaboration with Zooey Deschanel, and this effort here. In particular, Hold Time executes this aesthetic phenomenally well, with a series of older covers and of course, enough of a filter on Ward's already-weathered voice to make him appear to be singing to us from 30 years ago.

For an album mainly about introspection and a search for something more, Hold Time manages to keep it surprisingly upbeat-- as the journey is mostly highlighted by bright and pleasant melodies (see "Jailbird," "To Save Me"). Yes, there are your more somber moments as well ("Hold Time," "Blake's View"), but all fit into the puzzle perfectly (even the covers) as Ward's soul-seeking map unfolds. The results are also left ambiguous, leaving the listener to wonder if success was, in fact, achieved. Many of the album's closing tracks alternate between upbeat satisfaction and somber realization, but it's to the record's advantage. Without a definitive ending, the listener is free to assume their own, and explore the effort further, to really grab what they want to out of it.

Best Track: "To Save Me"

[Previously on Animal Noises: Best Albums of 2009: #12, Foreign Born's Person to Person]

New Monsters of Folk Video, "The Right Place"

Folk supergroup Monsters of Folk has released their first video from their self-titled debut, which came out yesterday. "The Right Place" visual representation is everything you'd expect it to be. A mellow pseudo-country jam, the video for the track takes place partially in the recording studio and partially in some rural backyard. Something tells me this is the only video for the project, but I could be wrong. Check it out below, and if you don't have Monsters of Folk already, get to it.

[Previously on Animal Noises: Tuesday's Releases (9/22): Now Streaming]

Monsters of Folk Now Streaming

For those who've been anxiously awaiting the collaboration between Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, Jim James and M. Ward, it looks like this is your lucky day. Admittedly, I was much more excited about the prospect of this project before Oberst's most recent effort checked in at "lackluster" at best, but hey, it's still a worthwhile project. Check it out in full over at Monsters of Folk's Myspace page. For those who still want to wait it out, Monsters of Folk comes out September 22nd via Rough Trade.

[Previously on Animal Noises: New Monsters of Folk, "Say Please"]

New Monsters of Folk, "Say Please"

As some may or may not be aware, the likes of Conor Oberst (2009's "Fail of the Year" to this point, but otherwise good guy), M. Ward, Jim James (aka Yim James) and Mike Mogis are teaming up for a collaboration, because everybody does that nowadays. Monsters of Folk features songs headed up by each member, and overall, looks to be a pretty good time if you're into folk, indie-folk or any of the subgenres therein. Though the album isn't out for a couple months, they've decided to release to us, the adoring (?) fans, an mp3 which we can use to generate buzz. All you have to do is answer a ridiculous riddle that could be solved by any seven year-old (sorry kindergarteners, you're SOL). So go check out the track, "Say Please" over at their website. And be sure to grab Monsters of Folk, which is out September 22nd via Shangri-La Music.

Best of 2009 So Far: #6-10

If you were with us yesterday, then you caught the first part of our commentary on the best albums of 2009. If not, check out #11-15 here before proceeding.

Below are albums #6-10 (in opposite order) for the year thus far. For the albums that have been reviewed here already, we've also included a link to the original review. Some things have changed. Others have not. Either way, all original reviews were left as they were.

10. Brother's Blood, Kevin Devine

Just like my commentary on Manchester Orchestra, I was impressed by Kevin Devine's progress and maturity as an artist here. He shed many of things that made his music either too raw or too naive, and the result was a colorful and dynamic effort I'm still pleasantly surprised by.

9. Heavy Ghost, DM Stith

I told you that you'd be hearing about this album again this week. Moving, and sometimes even a bit haunting, Heavy Ghost is a coming-out party of sorts for David Stith, and I'm honestly surprised we haven't heard more about it. Hopefully some more blogs pick up on this one before the end of the year, because it's definitely a must-hear album.

8. Bitte Orca, Dirty Projectors

Calm down. It's still in the top 10. On top of that, it's an album that grows on you quite a bit with each listen, so who knows, maybe it'll continue to rise from the 8 out of 10 I originally gave it upon its release. Everyone's talked about this one, but I'll just say that it is one of the more unique and graceful records of the year, and one you need if you don't already have.

7. Person to Person, Foreign Born

Another one that people have seemingly slept on so far this year. The band's second effort is rife with bright spots and memorable tracks as it utilizes an infectious energy and brilliant sense of the moment to hook you, quite easily, into a record I can discover more about with each listen.

6. Hold Time, M. Ward

As Ward's newest collaboration suggests, he now truly is a "Monster of Folk". Building on all of the goodwill generated last year by She & Him, he puts together an album that has some impeccable flow to it, as well as a charming demeanor that feels more warm and inviting every time. To me, it's definitely his best effort to-date.

And then there were five. Hopefully you enjoyed parts of this second post of three. The final portion, numbers one through five, will be up on Friday, so be sure to stop back in for that, as well as our review of Discovery's LP.