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SXSW preview: She and Him
The dream team of Matt Ward and Zooey Deschanel played some of their very first shows at South by Southwest in 2008, hot on the heels of the release of their first album as folk rock duo She and Him, ‘Volume One.’ Though Portland musician Ward had musical bona fides to spare — as a solo artist and collaborator to artists ranging from Cat Power to My Morning Jacket — actress Deschanel was a largely unknown quantity, aside from a fetching turn singing in both ‘Elf’ and ‘The Go-Getter.’
It was easy to be cynical about the duo — history is littered with ill-conceived vanity musical projects from actors. Remember Keanu Reeves in Dogstar? Neither does anyone else.
But a funny thing happened — ‘Volume One’ received almost universally positive reviews, landed on the Village Voice’s ‘Pazz and Jop’ poll as one of the year’s best albums and was named the best record of 2008 by Paste Magazine. The album gently rambled through 13 tracks of sun-dappled pop, with a gentle Orbisonian charm and sweet, wistful vocals from Deschanel.
So when the pair return to Austin for a series of shows during SXSW, they’ll be making a much deserved victory lap. Mettle proven, Ward says he’s seen Deschanel come a long way as a performer since those early sets.
‘I remember some of our first shows were during SXSW, and when we played those shows and first started touring she was a little more reserved in her performance,’ Ward says. ‘And you can really tell that she’s now completely comfortable, in front of whatever size audience, playing these songs. It’s a great thing to witness something like that.’
That boost in confidence isn’t confined to Deschanel’s performance in the live show. Appropriately, She and Him will play their second SXSW right before the release of their second album — titled, naturally, ‘Volume Two.’ Their sophomore effort is a bolder, more adventurous effort, replete with production flourishes from the swelling strings of ‘Thieves’ to the soaring background vocals and enthusiastic electric guitar solo of ‘In the Sun.’ And Deschanel’s songs — some written recently in the wake of the success of ‘Volume One’ and some written as long ago as her high school days — hit a broader range of subjects.
‘The new record goes more places emotionally. I feel that the mood swings are wider. The darker sentiments sound a little bit harsher and deeper and the brighter ideas come off brighter and sunnier,’ Ward says. ‘As a songwriter I know that Zooey’s always trying to push herself and as a producer I’m trying to do the same thing, and that comes across. We have a record that deals with those extremes and that’s something my favorite records achieve.’
‘Volume Two’ was crafted with the same approach that benefitted ‘Volume One’ — Deschanel writes and records demos straight to her computer, which are then e-mailed to Ward, who works on production and arrangements until the two can find time in their busy schedules to hit the studio. That piecemeal approach to recording is how the two artists have managed to produce their sophomore album a mere two years after their debut — even as Deschanel has starred in a handful of films in the interim and Ward’s involved himself in a half-dozen disparate musical projects, including last year’s solo album ‘Hold Time’ and the folk-rock supergroup Monsters of Folk.
It also gives the pair time to mull over, process and modify their work — the key advantage, says Ward, of their methodology.
‘We like to record in small chunks of time and give ourselves the luxury of time to go back and listen to and edit — or completely redo the song, if we have to,’ Ward says. ‘My big test for myself for whether or not a song is good is if I can write it today and not mind listening to it six months down the line. If I can, then maybe that song deserves to be recorded properly. And that’s basically how the She and Him project has been working.’
10 p.m. Thursday Cedar Street Courtyard, 208 W. Fourth St.
10 p.m. Friday Lustre Pearl, 97 Rainey St.
8 p.m. Saturday Auditorium Shores Stage (Lady Bird Lake)
If you like She and Him, check out:
1. Holly Miranda
2. April Smith and the Great Picture Show
3. Jakob Dylan and Three Legs (featuring Neko Case and Kelly Hogan)
4. Nicole Atkins and the Sea
5. Elizabeth and the Catapult
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