She & Him:Volume 3

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Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward’s “effortlessly enjoyable sound” seems to never change, said Gregory Heaney in AllMusic.com. As on their previous two albums (three if you include a Christmas release), the duo sounds here “like a band out of time, a pair of pop dreamers” who wish the calendars stopped when Brill Building songsmiths of the 1960s were still churning out “breezy, melancholy pop.” But skeptics inclined to dismiss She & Him as merely a side project for Deschanel should give this release a listen, said David Brusie in the A.V. Club. Sure, M. Ward’s production work “remains personality-less,” and Deschanel’s voice is “still rough and imprecise.” But the actress “has stepped up her songwriting skills,” providing “catchy and inventive” lyrics and melodies. The song “London,” a spare track that “effectively conveys the heartbreak of being away from home,” provides just one example of progress. Finally, this popular duo has made a record that “grabs—and mostly keeps—the listener’s attention.”