SHE & HIM - Volume One

Comparisons are bound to be made between these two and other girl-guy pairings of the past while, especially Dean & Britta and Isobel Campbell with Mark Lanegan. She & Him, though, is more of a lead-and-accompaniment deal, with Zooey Deschanel writing the tunes and singing upfront (mostly backing herself on vocals) with a sad simplicity evoking a twangier El Perro Del Mar, while M. Ward has a hand in the arrangements but doesn't actually sing all that often (which makes his occasional croon even more striking, as on the first of three well-placed covers, "You've Really Got A Hold On Me").