Album Review: She & Him – Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson

Revitalizing a star

Releasing on July 22nd, 2022, She & Him compiles fourteen of Brian Wilson’s greatest successes and revive them in their newest release Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson. The creative duo made up of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward honors the creative choices of Wilson’s work but are still able to add new ideas to classic hits with a fresh coat of paint. With both Ward and Deschanel collaborating on a variety of creative projects outside of their musical careers—such as T.V and movie collaborations—both add a sense of wisdom, knowledge and passion to their musical compositions.

With arguably one of The Beach Boys’ most popular works “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” featured as the second track, She & Him are able to strike it big and make a wonderful impression almost immediately while listening. The addition of female vocals from Deschanel, allows the song to still be able to stand on its own and not be a repetitive cover, while still staying faithful to the immediate source material. However, the real magic of the album is in the slower and more intimate tunes such as “‘Til I Die,” which features dreamy and hypnotic harmonies that sound cleaner and crisper than the original version by The Beach Boys. Even with these subtle changes in the creative timbres and instrumentation, the album is able to still honor the original work done by Wilson by still keeping the original skeleton of the song in place and recognizable to the audience.

Another melodic standout of She & Him’s work is their ability to bring true emotion into their recordings and performances. As lifelong fans of Wilson’s work, one can hear their passion behind it as they perform each of these tracks. The duo is able to paint a picture of all of Wilson’s work–not just the performative standouts but also his later solo works. Each track is presented with care and precision of each note. Both Deschanel and Ward have expressed how Brian Wilson’s array of music has always been something that the artists turn to to relax and lighten up. The duo is able to do just that in these reimaginations, with not one of them falling through the cracks.

An often-overlooked slower solo track of Wilson’s, “Melt Away” is a particular standout from its improvement in mixing and additive backing tracks from She & Him. These subtle musical spruces help give each track its individual sparkle along with the confident and relaxed vocals of Deschanel and Ward add to each song. “Melt Away” in particular is able to reach the emotional chord and the passion behind the artist’s work can be heard in each note.

Overall, it is clear that with experiences outside the music industry and bringing in pathos into their composition, She & Him’s newest album Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson is able to balance the line of honoring the artist’s creations while still adding new ideas into his work. Art is a medium that is ever-changing and ever-evolving. It is clear that Deschanel and Ward understand this concept and run with it by successfully implementing their own inspirations into Wilson’s timeless classics.