New She & Him!!

Yay, new She & Him! You know the drill: "In the Sun" is um, sunshiney indie folk with a tinge of twang and Zooey Deschanel's oh-so flirty voice. Oh and Tilly and the Wall contribute some back-up vocals too for just an extra bit of adorableness. Be on the lookout for Volume 2 March 23.

Oh and hey they're playing the Bowery Ballroom the day before my birthday. Who wants to buy this blogger some birthday tickets?? Bueller, Bueller?

In the Sun - She & Him

The stuff your indie wet dreams are made of...

Ok, ok so it's like really hard to believe Zooey would ever have a hard time getting her way. I mean all she has to do is bat her eyes, curtsy and twirl in her cute little dresses and she's got the world bowing before her. Nevertheless, I totally buy her take on the Smiths classic.

Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want - She & Him (The Smiths cover)

Top 26 Songs of 2008 (Jess Edition, Part 2)

Read Part 1 here

13. In the New Year – The Walkmen
Hamilton's snarl is so damn sexy and menacing. The way he sings “I know it’s true –it’s gonna be a good year” is like a threat. Year, you better be good or I’ll choke you with my bare hands. Meanwhile the shambolic guitars teeter as if on the brink of cautious optimism.

12. Sleepyhead – Passion Pit
Incredibly disorienting on the first listen, but upon closer examination this total mindfuck of electro-pop reveals layers upon layers of hooks. In my utopian world, this is what the future sounds like, or at least it should.

11. Lovecraft in Brooklyn – the Mountain Goats
John Darnielle finally gets his metal on--albeit in a highly literary, detailed narrative of paranoia in the city. Novelistic imagery of switchblades and brains in mason jars abound to genuinely frightening affect. The nearly meta-lyrics ring true: like John, we too are “like genuinely afraid.”

10. 5 Years Time – Noah and the Whale
The whistling intro, the clap-along melody, the Wes Anderson homage video – no doubt about it, this song is what it says: Love, Love Love.

9. Oh My God – Ida Maria
The Norwegian fireball defies you to “find a cure for her life” with raging grrrl power riffs and a smidge of vulnerability. Let us know if you.

8. Little Bit – Lykke Li
Sometimes the most minimal arrangements are the most effective. The sparse cyclical percussion, the whimpering puppy dog vocals that only a Swede can utter, plus those gutsy lyrics about “keeping your legs apart to forget about your tainted heart” all synergistically culminate in an anthemic confessional for the ages.

7. My Year in Lists – Los Campesinos!
Britain's cheekiest youngsters possess the wit or Art Brut and the twee-ness of Architecture in Helsinki and in under two minutes create one of the catchiest, cleverist melodies of the year.

6. Lights and Music – Cut Copy
This song is like a prism that shines rainbows on the dancefloor. It’s a technicolor wonderland of dance-y 80's goodness. How did New Order not record this song?

5. Light of Love – Music Go Music
Abba is reincarnated as a Californian indie-pop band, and sound a whole lot better this time around. The sugary chorus soars with this weird thing called optimism.

4. L.E.S. Artistes – Santogold
Pure empowerment from an electro-new-wave-hip-hop goddess. It’s the very definition of fierce.

3. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? – She & Him
Old-timey adorableness with a contemporary snap. Makes me wanna hike up my skirt and bat my eyelashes, though somehow I doubt I could beat Zooey in the coy, come-hither department

2. Blind – Hercules & Love Affair ft. Antony Hegarty
Very few songs move me. Even fewer songs get me to move. It is an extremely rare thing when a song accomplishes both. Antony’s operatic vocals humanize the icy synths and bleating horns into six full minutes of pulsating pathos.

1. Lost Coatlines – Okkervil River
This is everything I believed this band could be. With a delicious “Lust for Life” baseline, a lingering coda of “la, la, las”, not one, but two of the sexiest male voices in existence, this is a smart, sad wallop of a song. It won over my heart, my mind and my toe-tapping feet and is best heard in darkness alone.

She & Him @ Terminal 5, NYC July 26, 2008

Honestly, what could be better then making a living by prancing around on stage in a shiny dress with a tambourine? Really I have so few answers to that query after seeing She & Him last night. The oh-so-coy Ms. Zooey Deschanel batted her eyelashes and belted out her old-timey tunes, leaving me very pleased, and just a teensy bit jealous. I want her voice! I want her body! (Seriously, could you pull off that backless number and four-inch heels? Didn't think so.)
And so Zooey sang and M. Ward strummed (along with a full backing band too) playing lots of album cuts, a couple of covers (including an unrecorded Joni Mitchell one) and even a new song which sounded just dandy. Of course I feel really bad for the poor suckers stuck in the back of the venue. For those of you non-New Yorkers here's the part where I vent about how Terminal 5, a cavernous, 3,000 capacity venue is really, really unideal for most bands with guitars, especially quieter, folksy acts (Iron & Wine is slated to play there in November, bad, bad call on the promoters part). The acoustics are not the greatest and the sight lines leave much to be desired (especially for those of us who barely crack the 5 feet mark). As one guy who got stuck in the back during a recent Raconteurs show put it, "it's like seeing the best band possible...in your high school gym". But considering I got their relatively early and managed to stakeout a spot fairly close to the stage, I'm not complaining one bit.


Oh and to add to the girly goodness, Becky Stark lead singer of Lavendar Diamond sang back-up and even took the spotlight for three minutes, as she sang a lovely rendition "Garden Rose". If you like She & Him, you'll totally dig Lavender Diamond's sound. It's also in the same love-lorn, sepia-tinged aesthetic. Becky also wears pretty dresses, making it one awesome night of cutesy overload sensory stimulation. Like I said, I'm not complaining.


I Was Made For You - She & Him
Garden Rose - Lavender Diamond

I'm just sitting on the shelf

Cute song + cute girl + cartoon birds + decapitation(?!) = She & Him's video for "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?"

Best albums for first half of 2008

In no particular order, a brief rundown at what's pulled at our heartstrings so far this year. Please click on the artist's name to buy these albums. We repeat: Buy! Buy! Buy!

the Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride: Superchunk's Jon Wurster is a welcome addition to the band.
San Bernadino.mp3


Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight: Driving, earnest songs that belie the band's meek moniker.
Keep Yourself Warm.mp3


Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago: These delicate little songs have gently led me through many dark places this year.
Skinny Love.mp3


Islands - Arm's Way: Epic from start to finish. The strings are incredible!
Creeper.mp3


The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely: An extremely cohesive album. A sweltering album that, in my opinion, surpasses the bands debut.
Salute Your Solution.mp3


Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs: A shift in sound for the band. I've heard a lot of bad things about this album, but I'm really enjoying it.
I Will Posses Your Heart.m4a


Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours: Dance, Dance, Dance like you're at an 80's prom, except with way hipper music!
Unforgettable Season.mp3


Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea: David Berman's wit and rasp at its best.
Candy Jail.m4a


She & Him - Volume 1: The pinnacle of adorableness, plus M. Ward's immaculate, sepia-tinged production.
Black Hole.m4a


Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster...: Britain's cheekiest youngsters rock...with glockenspiel of course.
This Is How You Spell, "HAHAHA, We Destroyed the Hopes and Dreams of a Generation of Faux-Romantics".m4a


Vampire Weekend: Unironic pure joy, with a summertime-lounge-y feel.
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.mp3


Flight of the Conchords: Silliness without sappiness, spanning different genres.
Mutha'uckas.m4a


Sigur Rós - Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust: Faux-languaged Icelandic group pulls together a sharp, fun, poppy record.
Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur.mp3

She & Him

It feels almost weird listening to She & Him's Volume One on CD - it sounds like it should be an old 45, tucked away in your dad's record collection somewhere between Patsy Cline and The Carpenters and uhh every 60s girl group ever. That might be an instant turnoff to some, but it shouldn't be. Please, don't let it be.

If you read as many blogs as I do (um not something I'm sure I should be proud of), you probably know by now that She is actress Zooey Deschanel and Him is indie-alt-folkie M. Ward. And together the pronouns join forces to create one of the most charming, old-timey albums I've heard in ages. Here's why it works: Zooey's voice is so damn effortless. She can coyly sing her way out of a paper bag if you ask me. She agily traverses sunny AM pop, twangy country ballads and melancholic folk with endearing, believable ease. I sincerely hope Volume Two is in the works. Stream the whole thing here, then run to the record store March 18 and buy it.

This is Not A Test - She & Him
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? - She & Him
Got Me - She & Him