M. Ward and actress Zooey Deschanel -- better known together as She & Him -- say the decision to work together was kismet. "I don't produce other people's songs too much," Ward tells Spinner. "But when I heard these songs, I knew I wanted to give it a shot."

The result of that pairing, 'Volume One,' is rapidly making the duo darlings of the indie world. Both Ward and Deschanel have a deep love for old music, which set forth the impetus for the album's sound. "We tried to keep it as close to the way an old record would be recorded as possible," Deschanel says. "I would rather hear somebody mess up a little bit, be a little bit off key, or have a lot bit of gravelly in their voice than hear a machine make them sound like a robot. I don't want to hear robots making music."

Though the refreshing lack of polish is finding the pair fans, Deschanel is keeping an active filming schedule, thus making typical tours not very likely. But Ward feels that's part of what makes this project so fun. "This She & Him project is just a great holiday," he says. "The recording of it was really simple and easy because the songs were great. Now, we play shows when it fits into our schedule, record when we have the time and it's really simple as that."