Album Review: She & Him - Volume 3

Like anything involving Zooey Deschanel, previous albums from She & Him have bordered on being just a little too precious. And while they well and truly plummeted over that brink with 2011's A Very She & Him Christmas, they're back on the right side of the line with Volume 3. Deschanel and collaborator/guitarist/producer M Ward don't reinvent the wheel with Volume 3, but that's okay. There's something about the '50s pop feel of songs like I've Got Your Number, Son, the ukulele balladry of Turn To White and overall folkie charm of their aesthetic that hasn't worn out yet. Although the layers and layers of Deschanel's “oohs” and “aahs” can be a little much at times, they're almost worth it when you hear their striking contrast with something as sparse and trimmed down as the piano and vocal-only London.

Like earlier releases, Volume 3 comes padded out with a few covers that do just that – inoffensively pad out the tracklisting without actually adding much. A series of collaborators pop up across the record, none more head scratching than Minutemen bass player Mike Watt. It's a long way from one of the most influential and enduring punk bands of the '80s to collaborating with a sitcom star in 2013, and while he doesn't get to really add any Watt-ness, it's great to see him filling this role of elder statesman. Like the sequential system of album titles leading up to this latest release would suggest, Volume 3 builds up on what's come before without really building out. Deschanel and Ward have their thing, and they're sticking to it.