She and Him - A Very She and Him Christmas

  by Kelly Smith

published: 9 / 12 / 2011

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Review

Anyone here seen 'Elf'? It’s probably the best Christmas film ever made, so if you haven’t, I am massively judging you and you should buy it immediately as a Christmas treat to yourself. Zooey Deschanel, the She from She and Him, sang ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ in 'El'f, and I can’t believe that even though I’ve seen that film a thousand times I hadn’t already thought, “Why the hell hasn’t she made a Christmas album? She’s phenomenal?” Well. Now she has, along with her Him, M. Ward, and frankly it is wonderful. Deschanel has the kind of dreamlike, ethereal voice only gifted to the most indie of indie musicians, and here she displays it to outstanding effect by producing one of the most honest, stripped back Christmas albums I have ever heard. Full of cover versions of classic Christmas songs (don’t expect anything by Slade or the Darkness. It’s not that kind of Christmas), the album opens with the gorgeous ‘The Christmas Waltz’, a slow and soft introduction to the festive period. You can literally imagine yourself looking in through a frosty window while it snows outside, to see Deschanel and Ward singing this at a piano next to an open fire. It is so Christmassy, it is borderline hallucinogenic. She and Him need to be the soundtrack to a seasonal film, before I lose my mind imagining one. ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ is a song we’ve all heard a million times before, and yeah, they don’t do anything outrageously different here. There’s no drum and bass, no synth, no mash-up. But that’s the beauty of She and Him. They have taken a world-famous Christmas song, and sang it in the original intended style, and made it completely and utterly enchanting. ‘Sleigh Ride’, never one of my favourite festive songs before now, is transformed by the incredible vocal talent of both Deschanel and Ward into something you actually can’t help your face from smiling along to. Other massive highlights include ‘Blue Christmas’, ‘Little Saint Nick’ and a nice gender-reversal in the ever brilliant ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’. I’m going to have to leave it there before I explode with Christmas joy. I’m off to decorate the tree, frost snowflakes on the window, and put on a Christmas jumper. Whatever the thing is that’s better than ‘consumingly glorious’, that is how I would describe 'A Very She and Him Christmas'. Do yourself a favour and stick it on while you’re wrapping your presents. Merry Christmas, everyone.

Track Listing:-

1 The Christmas Waltz
2 Christmas Day
3 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
4 I'll Be Home For Christmas
5 Christmas Wish
6 Sleigh Ride
7 Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
8 Silver Bells
9 Baby, It's Cold Outside
10 Blue Christmas
11 Little Saint Nick
12 The Christmas Song

Band Links:-

http://www.sheandhim.com/
https://www.facebook.com/sheandhim
https://plus.google.com/10267417456573
https://twitter.com/sheandhim
https://www.youtube.com/user/SheandHim
https://www.instagram.com/sheandhim/

Label Links:-

http://www.doublesixrecords.com/
https://twitter.com/doublesixrecs
https://www.facebook.com/Double-Six-19
https://www.youtube.com/user/doublesix
https://plus.google.com/10407435529903