She & Him announce May release for “Volume 3″
She & Him aka Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward will release their third album of original material, entitled Volume 3, on May 7 (May 13 in UK/Europe). The duo will also be hitting the road for a month-long tour this summer, which kicks off at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on June 13, and includes a headlining show at the legendary Hollywood Bowl on June 23, as well as an evening at Central Park Summerstage in July. Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell and Camera Obscura provide support on select dates. A full list of tour dates are below, and ticket presale information is at SheandHim.com.
With fourteen songs – 11 Deschanel originals and 3 covers – Volume 3 is an effortlessly effervescent, bleached-out-in-the-sun pop record. The album features some of the most dynamic, complex songs Deschanel has ever written, allowing for tempo shifts, disco grooves, string arrangements on multiple tracks, and horn flourishes that perfectly suit the She & Him sound. Produced by M. Ward, and recorded in Los Angeles, Portland, and New York City, Volume 3 features guest contributions from NRBQ’s Joey Spampinato, Mike Watt, Tilly and the Wall, Pierre de Reeder from Rilo Kiley, and Tom Hagerman from Devotchka.
Since the release of the band’s album Volume Two in 2010, much has happened to both She and to Him. Deschanel, whose television show New Girl has cemented her status as a sitcom star, continued to hone her songwriting skills, writing the theme song for her new show, in addition to being nominated for a Grammy for Best Original Song for the movie Winnie the Pooh. She wrote songs for Volume 3 during small pockets of downtime while filming New Girl, as Ward toured the world behind his latest solo creation, A Wasteland Companion, which was released to massive critical acclaim last year. Together and separately, the duo has sold over a million albums domestically – a testament to their classic sonic arrangements, their rich, incomparable voices, and their ability to craft pitch-perfect, Brill Building-esque choruses around timeless, universal themes.
Track listing for Volume 3:
1. I’ve Got Your Number, Son
2. Never Wanted Your Love
3. Baby
4. I Could’ve Been Your Girl
5. Turn to White
6. Somebody Sweet to Talk To
7. Something’s Haunting You
8. Together
9. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me
10. Snow Queen
11. Sunday Girl
12. London
13. Shadow of Love
14. Reprise (I Could’ve Been Your Girl)
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. This is all too beautiful, guys! And the incredibly talented Autumn de Wilde has done it yet again with another stunning shot of Zooey and Matt. While we’re personally not too crazy about the cover art (we’re fans of the illustrations on the previous two volumes), it’s the music that really matters, and that’s what we’re most thrilled about. May is so close, and yet so far! Who else is excited?