Critical Voices: She & Him, A Very She & Him Christmas

December 25 is a full two months away, ornaments are still packed in boxes, and presents have yet to be bought, but none of this has stopped indie pop duo She & Him from releasing a Christmas album. In A Very She & Him Christmas, the quirky M. Ward and actress-turned-singer Zooey Deschanel take on the difficult task of making holiday cheer relevant in October.
While the album succeeds in inspiring some Christmas morning-like glee, a few tracks fall short of big-red-bow worthiness. It’s a sampling of technically polished, if sometimes campy, songs. The group’s third full-length album offers few surprises, but it’s hard to resist the nostalgia-inducing numbers.
The holiday cheer reaches a height in fast-paced “Sleigh Ride” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” The vocal contribution of Ward on these upbeat tracks provides a nice contrast to the sometimes somber Deschanel-only numbers. In “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” Deschanel’s vocals have the almost conversational magic that made her rendition of the song in Elf memorable (and Ward’s rich crooning easily rivals Buddy).
Deschanel masterfully handles the melodies of classic holiday songs like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” with her staple soulfulness and charm. The mellow “Christmas Day,” a track that rightfully draws on an excellent Beach Boys cover, is a refreshingly uncommon Christmas song with a chorus well suited to Deschanel’s voice. The twangy guitar backing from Ward compliments the lilting verses and lends the song a spontaneous and unhurried feeling.
Still, the Christmas spirit seems to fade in the thoroughly sad “Blue Christmas,” and while Deschanel’s light ukulele strumming on “Silver Bells” and “Little Saint Nick” is a welcome break from an otherwise guitar-heavy album, her usually bubbly vocals fall flat on the high notes. And despite the songwriting prowess that was evident in the twosome’s previous albums, A Very She & Him Christmas is devoid of original songs. The lack of original writing contributes to the rehearsed, sometimes forced feeling of the album.
In October, the holidays may seem distant, but the better songs on A Very She & Him Christmas will still be on repeat when Christmas morning rolls around, even if a few tracks are best left under the tree.