myspace.com/ukemusicShe & Him is the brainchild of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. The two met last year while recording a song for a soundtrack and realized they enjoyed collaborating.
Although Deschanel has in the past focused on her acting career (you might know her as a high strung ex-girlfriend in “Weeds” or “Elf” with Will Ferrell) she has actually been singing for years, writing her own songs and recording them in the privacy of her home.
It wasn’t until working with M. Ward that Deschanel decided to share her songs and, with the help of Ward’s production skills, She & Him was born.
Collaborating was not a new thing for M. Ward, however. The indie/folk rocker has shared the stage with Bright Eyes and My Morning Jacket, wrote songs for Norah Jones and Beth Orton and produced the Jenny Lewis and Watson Twins’ Rabbit Coat Fur album.
Together, Deschanel and Ward create the sort of music you want to listen to at any time – at times rollicking and upbeat like in “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?” or sometimes hauntingly pure in their cover of “You’ve Really Got a Hold On Me.” The sound of M. Ward’s guitar strings blending with the surprising amount of soul hiding in Deschanel’s voice produce some unforgettable moments in their music.
Their album, Volume One, won’t be released until March 18, but you can listen to a few of the tracks on their Myspace page and the Myspace dedicated to Deschanel’s music, which can be found by searching for “Zooey Deschanel” under the Music category.
Over Ward’s whining guitar, Deschanel opines, “Change is hard/I should know” but this new change is pretty lovely.
