She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) have released “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” the second single off their upcoming album Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson via Fantasy Records, out July 22, 2022. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” was the opening track off the Beach Boys’ 1966 album Pet Sounds.
She & Him’s seventh studio album is a loving, LP-length tribute to one of the greatest living American songwriters and singers, Brian Wilson. Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson finds Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward diving deep into the legendary artist’s extensive songbook, offering fascinating and delectable new spins on time-honored classics and overlooked gems alike.
These fourteen covers are infused with the familiar magic that She & Him fans know and love, opening a new window into Wilson’s iconic catalog. Wilson even features on a song with Zooey and M. Ward for the album, “Do It Again.” The band have enjoyed a friendship, and mutual appreciation, with Wilson over the years and She & Him was previously a guest vocalist on his 2015 album, No Pier Pressure. Recently, the band released “Darlin’,” the lead track and video from Melt Away.
“In the spring of 2020, we started a list of our favorite Brian songs—a very long list,” the duo explains. “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.”
Brian Wilson also commented on Melt Away, saying, “Zooey and Matt did such mind-blowing versions of our songs. The harmonies are beautiful and right on. I love this record!”