She & Him, the much-admired duo of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, will release their seventh studio album on July 22, and it’s a salute to one of the greatest songwriter-artists of all.
Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson will be out via Fantasy Records as their personal celebration of the Beach Boys’ co-founder, featuring new takes on classic hits and lesser-known gems – and one track even includes a contribution from Wilson himself.
The first release from the new project, their version of the 1967 single “Darlin’,” co-written by Wilson and Mike Love, is out today (18). It arrives with a QVC-inspired video directed by Lara Jean Gallagher, as we see the pair trading lead vocals and attempting to sell nail polish to the masses.
The 14-song album already has the ringing endorsement of Wilson himself, with whom She & Him have had a longtime mutual admiration. They contributed guest vocals to his 2015 album No Pier Pressure. He says: “Zooey and Matt did such mind-blowing versions of our songs. The harmonies are beautiful and right on. I love this record!” Wilson features with Zooey and M. Ward on their interpretation for the Melt Away album of the Beach Boys’ 1968 UK No.1 “Do It Again.”
The duo explain: “In the spring of 2020, we started a list of our favorite 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.”
She & Him will embark on their previously-announced Melt Away Tour on June 15 in Denver, with dates until September. Full details are at sheandhim.com. The new album is the duo’s follow-up to the 2016 holiday album Christmas Party, and is their second record of non-holiday covers, following 2014’s Classics, a No.1 on Billboard’s Folk Albums chart.
Melt Away augments the 15-year history of the duo’s warm and welcoming indie-pop sound, during which time Deschanel has expanded her successful acting career and Ward has continued his singular solo career as a producer and singer-songwriter.
Pre-order Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson, which is released on July 22.
The full tracklist is:
Darlin’
Wouldn’t It Be Nice
Til I Die
Deirdre
Melt Away
Good To My Baby
Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
Don’t Worry Baby
This Whole World
Kiss Me, Baby
Do It Again ft. Brian Wilson
Heads You Win, Tails I Lose
Please Let Me Wonder
Meant For You
