So Zooey Deschanel and M.Ward met while making a cover of Richard and Linda Thompson’s “If I Get To The Border” for the indie-film “The Go-Getter,” starring Lou Taylor Pucci (the breakout star of “Thumbsucker“), Zooey Deschanel and Jena Malone.
The two hit it off so well, Deschanel soon overcame shyness to mention to Ward she wrote songs and eventually sent him demos. Impressed, the Portland based songwriter wanted more and the two met up to record and produce.
Two of our favorite tracks from their collaborative debut album (under the moniker She & Him), Volume One, have less of the twangy, country vibe of their earlier leaked songs, and more of a brassy, Wall-of-Specter, girl-group sound (see below). It’s a pretty decent album, but we definitely prefer this somewhat surprising sound from the duo.
Meanwhile, there appears to be no progress on “The Go-Getter” film. The picture appears to still not have any distribution and the official MySpace page for the film run by director Martin Hynes has been dormant since May 2007. The film did however play at the Nantucket film festival in June 2007. Deschanel has recently signed on with “There Will Be Blood” star Paul Dano to star in the “offbeat” indie comedy, “Gigantic.”
She & Him will be playing a few scattered dates this spring including performances at SXSW and the San Francisco Noise Pop festival.
Download: M. Ward w/ Zooey Deschanel – “When I Get To The Border”
Download: Richard and Linda Thompson – “When I Get To The Border”
