She & Him

The first time I heard Zooey Deschanel sing it was the National Anthem at the World Series on Fox, so since her show, New Girl, was debuting on Fox, it was one of those annoying cross promotions. But she sang it wonderfully. I think even Joe Buck was surprised how good it was.

I was vaguely aware that Deschanel had a band, or rather a duo consisting of her and M. Ward, called She & Him (the incorrect grammar of that drives a little stake through my heart, but I'm sure it was chosen to be quirky). With the release of their third album this week, I picked up all the She & Him records (each is identified by a volume number) and I'm here to report that my crush on Deschanel has grown by leaps and bounds.

Deschanel writes the songs and sings lead vocals, and man I love her voice. It has the slightly smoky quality and nasal curl of her speaking voice, but it also clear and mellifluous, lovely in all keys. As an actress, she is able to employ many different phrasing qualities, whether being kittenish or wounded or defiant.

The opening song on the first volume, "Sentimental Heart," is almost a manifesto for her lyrics, which are all about relationships and mostly about relationships gone sour. "What can you do with a sentimental heart?" she sings, and so we pocket that information and listen about heartbreak, with her crystalline voice defying men not to fall in love with her.

Deschanel is ably assisted by Ward, who every once in a while provides his own whispery voice (such as in a call and response of a cover of "You Really Got a Hold On Me") and his production, which takes Deschanel's songs and gives them all sorts of sounds,from country to bubblegum to '40s torch song. Some of them are little pop masterpieces, such as "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" from Volume 1 and "Never Wanted Your Love" from Volume 3.

There are also carefully selected covers, such as the one mentioned and a version of the Beatles "I Should Have Never Known Better" that sounds almost Hawaiian with all the steel guitar.

So now my Zooey Deschanel crush is really huge. What is to be done, other than continue to listen to these gorgeous records?