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She & Him, the acclaimed twosome of M.Ward and Zooey Deschanel are known for the stylish arrangements, sophisticated interpretations, and sharply drawn originals they have perfected across their exceedingly fruitful six-album, 14-year collaboration. Now, with Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson, their seventh full-length release (and first for Fantasy), the duo has crafted a love letter to 60’s-era Southern California-inspired pop that stands on its own as a defining musical achievement.
Produced by M.Ward and mixed by Tom Schick (Wilco, Norah Jones, Iron and Wine), Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson is the pair’s first in six years and features an abundance of smartly chosen Wilson/Beach Boys compositions, some universally beloved and others a little less familiar. All of them though, whether ingrained in your soul or hearing for the first time, share a flair for the dramatic. Ward and Deschanel bring their uncanny communal musical instincts to these pop-noir confections and re-imagine them for these times.
The inviting, twangy album opener, Brian Wilson and Mike Love’s “Darlin’,” (from the Beach Boys 1967 album Wild Honey) sets a high bar that She & Him meets throughout. The duo’s devoted take on “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is especially revealing. Most wouldn’t consider touching the stone-cold classic, yet they lean into it with unabashed joy. Elsewhere, the band’s sublime version of Wilson’s mournful “Til I Die” is a three-minute and 22 second marvel. Deschanel’s spectacular vocal turn on the criminally overlooked Wilson solo cut “Melt Away” transforms the original’s lush, string-heavy treatment into a post-modern folk-pop gem. Other highlights include the surf-rock throwback “Do It Again,” featuring vocals from Brian Wilson himself (!) and the graceful “Please Let Me Wonder,” a long-treasured Wilson album cut. Finally, the Beach Boy’s timeless “Don’t Worry Baby” might be the album’s centerpiece and most affecting track. M.Ward’s earthy, laconic lead vocal layered over an exquisite arrangement feels organic and completely new – just like this album, a stunner in every way.
In the spring of 2020, we started a list of our favourite Brian songs – a very long list.
We chose songs without any regard to their chart performance. The obscure ones hit us just as hard as the more popular songs – and all are ripe for re-imagining, re-interpreting and re-inventing.
Brian writes songs of beauty and loneliness and vulnerability better than anyone – and by sequencing them next to popular songs of confidence and love and fun – it creates a more complete picture of life on earth.
- Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward.
1. “Darlin’” – (Wilson-Love) - from the Beach Boys 1967 LP Wild Honey
2. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” – (Wilson-Asher-Love) - from the Beach Boys 1966 LP Pet Sounds
3. “Til I Die” – (Brian Wilson) – from the Beach Boys 1971 LP Surf’s Up
4. “Deidre” – (Johnson-Wilson) – from the Beach Boys 1970 LP Sunflower
5. “Melt Away” – (Brian Wilson) – from Brian Wilson’s 1988 self-titled solo LP
6. “Good To My Baby” – (Wilson-Love) – from the 1965 LP The Beach Boys Today!
7. “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)” – (Wilson-Asher) - from the 1966 LP Pet Sounds
8. “Don’t Worry Baby” – (Wilson-Christian) – from the Beach Boys 1964 LP Shut Down Volume 2
9. “This Whole World” – (Wilson) – from the Beach Boys 1970 LP Sunflower
10. “Kiss Me, Baby” – (Wilson-Love) – from the 1965 LP The Beach Boys Today!
11. “Do It Again” featuring Brian Wilson – (Wilson-Love) – from the Beach Boys 1968 LP Friends
12. "Heads You Win, Tails I Lose" – (Wilson-Usher) - from the Beach Boys 1962 LP Surfin’ Safari
13. “Please Let Me Wonder” – (Wilson-Love) - from 1965 LP the Beach Boys Today!
14. “Meant For You” – (Wilson-Love) - from the Beach Boys 1968 LP Friends
