Even more new tunes

Whether CD (me) or digital (everyone else), it has been a busy few weeks for new releases, with surprises and disappointments on all sides. Plus, I don't feel much like writing about myself, and music provides the perfect deflection to all questions of health, sanity and otherwise.

This Just In... Actress' Singing Debut Worth its Weight

Relax – Zooey Deschanel can actually sing, and doesn’t spit out a Hollywood actress vanity project sure to be laughed as sheer novelty while browsing the dollar bin. You can still mock her for appearing in Failure to Launch, but don't knock her vocal skills.

But She and Him’s Volume One is not bogged down by studio magic. This girl has pipes, and lets them loose on this set that pays heavy tribute to Carly Simon, Carole King and other Seventies female singer-songwriters. Along for the ride is indie-folk type M. Ward (the Him), who gives the actress immediate credibility.

The opener shows no signs of studio magic – Deschanel pushes her voice to its limits on “Sentimental Heart” and that strained feeling could turn some away. Two songs later, on “This is Not a Test,” hits stride and doesn’t stumble until a few ill-chosen covers.

Her lyrics might not leap out, but give Deschanel credit for leaning on her own material and partnering with indie-folk type Ward, whose minimal yet diverse arrangements put Deschanel’s voice up front. Him’s voice doesn’t show up much, but he recognizes this is She’s moment.

Nothing Odd About It

Anyone expecting a catchy single in the vein of “Crazy” will immediately finger “Go On” as a different breed. The song is still catchy, but not the bolt from the blue Gnarls Barkley delivered on its debut. The swirling guitar intro underlies a sadness rarely found in a catchy song.

The one-off collaboration of Cee-Lo and producer Danger Mouse has some additional life. The two fleshed out The Odd Couple to where it never feels like the money grab of most sequels, although it falls short of the original article. Driven by more mellow experimentation, The Odd Couple lets the darker moments of St. Elsewhere bubble to the surface.

Not that it doesn’t toss in a little fun. “Surprise” does just that, with its entrancing, vintage 60’s pop choruses ripped from a Jan and Dean record.

I cannot tell a lie – there are some absolute dogs on this record, a good indication the well is running dry for the Gnarls crew. Danger Mouse might be at the height of his producing powers, and Cee-Lo’s sweet notes are like a old friend who occasionally pops into town for a quick night of hellraising.

Gnarls Barkley turned out an sometimes intriguing sequel with less radio-friendly plot twists. This is an above-par second effort. But it's somewhat tainted by sequel fever, and hardly a masterpiece.