| She & Him | |
|---|---|
 She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Genres | Indie, alternative country, indie folk |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels | Merge, Double Six |
| Associated acts | If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies, Monsters of Folk |
| Website | www.sheandhim.com |
| Members | |
| Zooey Deschanel M. Ward |
|
She & Him is an American indie duo consisting of Zooey Deschanel (vocals, piano, ukulele[1]) and M. Ward (guitar, production).[2] The band's first album, Volume One, was released on Merge Records in March 2008.[3] The duo is augmented by session musicians Rachel Blumberg (drums), Mike Mogis (pedal steel guitar, mandolin) and Mike Coykendall (bass, guitar).[4]
Contents |
Deschanel and Ward first met on the set of the film The Go-Getter, in which the actress had a starring role. The director, Martin Hynes, introduced them to each other and asked them to sing a duet together to be played at the end credits of the film. They decided to perform a Richard and Linda Thompson song "When I Get to the Border."[5] The two bonded over a shared interest in the records produced by George Martin and Phil Spector and by certain Ralph Peer groups such as the Carter Family.[6]
Ward, having heard Deschanel sing previously in the film Elf, was surprised to learn that she wrote songs herself, but hadn't pursued a career in music. Deschanel comments in an interview with Venus Zine, “I always thought I would be able to sing and act, but at a certain point, it became difficult for me to share the music part. So I was writing a ton of music, but not really doing anything with it. I didn’t really know exactly who to collaborate with ... until I met Matt, and everything seemed to fall into place.”[7] Deschanel had actually done years' worth of home demos, but was shy about becoming a big-name celebrity.[8] On a whim, she decided to send them to Ward.[6] Ward called her a short time later, telling her that he would like to record her songs properly, and their band She & Him was formed.[citation needed] Deschanel said in an interview: "I always have loved music, ever since I was really little. I just loved to sing."[9]
The pair originally collaborated via e-mail, with Ward working out of his Portland, Oregon studio and Deschanel in her Los Angeles, California home. The city had a huge influence on Deschanel's music, evoking long drives along the coastal roads listening to Brian Wilson and golden oldies, jam music on 1970s AM radio.[6][8] The Californian music scene also fed into Ward's production of the album, to such an extent that it inspired some of his later guitar work with alt-country singers like Jenny Lewis.
Ward would spend time "tinkering" with the music after Deschanel sent it to him, but she went to his studio to put the finishing touches on their album. They recorded in Portland in December 2006 and February–March 2007. The album was completed in three sessions. They also recorded in Mike Coykendall's and Adam Selzer's studios, and had a mixing session with Mike Mogis in his Omaha, Nebraska studio in either April or May 2007. The album exhibits the Omaha Sound.
They took a break after that as Ward was on tour and Deschanel was filming a movie. Their album was released on March 18, 2008. Their first public appearance as a band, however, was a year and two months earlier at the Sundance screening of The Go-Getter. They performed sporadically at other events and kicked off their first tour in the summer of 2008. Paste Magazine declared She & Him's debut the #1 album of the year.[10]
She & Him performed at the South by Southwest festival in March 2008[11][12] and went on tour during July and August 2008. Becky Stark of the band Lavender Diamond provided back up vocals.[13]
On March 17, 2010, She & Him released their second album, Volume Two. The album features covers of NRBQ's 1977 single "Ridin' in My Car" and Patience and Prudence's "Gonna Get Along Without You Now", as well as a guest appearance from the indie pop group Tilly and the Wall on the track "In the Sun".
She & Him toured through the spring of 2010.[14] They performed concerts throughout the United States including the music festivals South by Southwest, Coachella, Bonnaroo, Savannah, Sasquatch, Nateva, Verge and the inaugural LouFest in St. Louis, headlining with the likes of Broken Social Scene, Jeff Tweedy and Built to Spill. They also toured Europe, visiting London, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, and Amsterdam. They were chosen by Matt Groening to perform at All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in England.[15]
A Very She & Him Christmas was announced on Pitchfork.com in September 2011. The twelve track Christmas album was released October 24, 2011 under Merge Records.[16]. Amazon.com said on 29 December 2011 that the album was one of its top three best selling MP3-albums over the Christmas period [17]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [18] |
US Alt [19] |
US Folk [20] |
US Indie [21] |
US Rock [22] |
AUS [23] |
FRA [24] |
GRE [25] |
SWE [26] |
UK | ||
| Volume One |
|
71 | 18 | — | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Volume Two |
|
6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 49 | 104 | 45 | 28 | 62 |
| A Very She & Him Christmas |
|
12 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 91 | — | — | — | 145 |
"—" Denotes territory in which album did not chart
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Singles Sales | US AC | FRA | |||
| 2008 | "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?"/"Lotta Love"[27] | — | — | — | — | Volume One |
| 2010 | "In the Sun"/"I Can Hear Music"[28] | — | 4 | — | 89 | Volume Two |
| "Thieves"/"I Knew It Would Happen This Way"[29] | — | 35 | — | — | ||
| "I Put a Spell on You"/"Lingering Still"[30] | — | — | — | — | single only | |
| 2011 | "Baby, It's Cold Outside"[31] | — | — | 25 | — | A Very She & Him Christmas |
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" | Ace Norton |
| 2010 | "In the Sun" | Peyton Reed |
| "Thieves" | Norwood Cheek | |
| 2011 | "Don't Look Back" | Jeremy Konner |
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