For all the talk about actors and crossovers that has dogged the duo, She he it’s first and foremost about the fandom. Zooey Deschanel She never hid her love for bright, shiny pop baubles, and never appeared too self-conscious onstage. She didn’t seem like an actress trying to convince us that she was a singer, but more like a music nerd who really loved all that do-do-do and ba-ba-ba. Even before she and room n covered dusty springfieldHerb Alpert and Johnny Mathis in 2014 classicsYou knew these were some of their favorite artists, because those references lived right on the surface of every song they recorded or performed. They never bothered to hide their enthusiasm, which together with the distinctive timbre of Deschanel’s voice gave her songs a sense of novelty and purpose, a reason for existing that went beyond being a vanity project for her or a project for her. parallel to him.
Fourteen years into their run together, however, not much novelty or purpose remains. They haven’t released an album of originals in almost a decade, and haven’t released anything since their second (!) holiday album, six years ago. His new, Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilsonit’s another cover album, not a mixed bag like classics showing the range of their fandom, but one dedicated solely to Brian Wilson. The only surprise is that they didn’t realize it sooner, given the size the children of the beach peeks into his music. “Zooey and I can wholeheartedly agree that we love everything they’ve done,” Ward told The Associated Press. Los Angeles Times in 2010. “Those harmonies and chord changes? That’s the sound of California.” Wilson’s influence was reflected in the sunny Golden State innocence of his early originals like “This Is Not a Test” and “I Was Made for You,” and it shows in the darkness they choose to Vanish. This won’t be the only Wilson tribute to include “Don’t Worry Baby” or “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” but how many others will make room for lesser-known gems like “Good to My Baby” and “Deirdre”? Vanish, To his credit, it’s a fan’s playlist.
And yet, audacity is lacking in these new versions. It’s not just a matter of being too reverent or taking too few liberties. In fact, Deschanel and Ward obviously love all the details that go into Wilson’s arrangements, and go to great lengths to make it all that way: sitar and piano flourish on “Kiss Me Baby,” sobbing guitar on “Don’ t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder),” the up-tempo driving “Do It Again” (which features newly recorded vocals by Wilson himself). But it’s all a little too neat, a little too perfect. His take on “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is invigorating simply because it sounds so forced and awkward, it’s a live/studio hybrid, reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkelthe cover of the brothers forever‘ “Bye Bye Love,” which pits its careful orchestrations against what sounds like applause from an audience slightly behind the beat. It doesn’t really work; in fact, it prevents you from getting carried away by the song or the dream of finding the right person to spend your life with. But it’s still the boldest moment on the album.
Maybe they just weren’t made for these times, or maybe the problem is more to do with size. When Wilson wrote and scored these songs, he made them sound larger than life, adding grandeur to fleeting daydreams and everyday longings. But the She & Him versions remain simply life-size, even when the harmonies explode on “Kiss Me Baby” or the closer “Meant for You” promises lifelong devotion. There’s a warm cheesy intimacy in the best moments of Vanish, but it’s not enough. There is nothing to suggest that pop music can play a significant role in a listener’s life, beyond background music for a dinner party. Alternating between just nice and too precious, Vanish it’s such a low-risk endeavor that it doesn’t even register as a comeback.
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