CD: She & Him – A Very She & Him Christmas | reviews, news & interviews
CD: She & Him – A Very She & Him Christmas
CD: She & Him – A Very She & Him Christmas
Hollywood kook Zooey Deschanel's alt-indie duo goes Yuletide
There are plenty of recent examples of videogenic movie stars embarking on questionable musical pursuits, from Keanu Reeves to Scarlett Johansson, to name two whose rhythmic careers should have been throttled at birth. Zooey Deschanel, Hollywood's go-to kook, has actually recorded some remarkably pretty music.
In fact, Deschanel excels at wistful, shimmery, Sixties-influenced anthems. So it is a pity that her band's new festive season album largely dips back further into musical history to offer a selection of mostly familiar standards that require real vocal oomph to make them swing, but instead have to rely on the singer's trademark fluffy style. Thus we get "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "Baby, It's Cold Outside" and "Blue Christmas" in an absolutely stripped-down form, which lays bare the thinness of Deschanel's range. This candy-floss concoction makes Phil Spector's Christmas Album seem like the latest release from Rammstein.
As much as I love this twosome there is not much to get a purchase on here. M Ward's sparse guitar contributions on tracks such as the k.d. lang-ish "I'll Be Home for Christmas" are economical to the point of credit-crunch frugality, while Deschanel's croon on The Beach Boys’ "Little Saint Nick" would blow away on the slightest breeze. All of which is not to say that A Very She & Him Christmas is unpleasant. In fact, as dinner-party background music it might well go down as smoothly as a bottle of Baileys. But if you want something to grab you around the neck and demand your attention, you've definitely stumbled into the wrong place.
Watch She & Him perform "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?"
rating
Share this article
Add comment
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
Comments
I'm not sure I understand wtf
I'm not sure I understand wtf is going on in this video, but it's Zooey, so that's okay.