It takes a while for She & Him to shed their respects, but then comes the version of “Heads You Win, Tails I Lose” that focuses entirely on the Beach Boys song’s chorus, throwing it into an oddly spacey, unreal atmosphere . Otherwise, MELT AWAY: A TRIBUTE TO BRIAN WILSON is just that: a tribute, an homage to one of the greatest, larger-than-life figures in pop history.
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In addition, Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward have reduced their long list of favorite Brian Wilson songs to a manageable 14 tracks – from a classic like “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” to previously overlooked solo numbers like “Melt Away”. But whether it’s a world hit or a rarity: She & Him interpret almost all songs with a similar warmth and without much fanfare, go in search of the core of the compositions, uncover the secondary melodies that are sometimes hidden in Wilson, but add to the pieces – apart from the duet Character – little new added.
When the two sing “Kiss me, Baby, love to hold you tight” together, it even beats the original in terms of corniness. Because this tribute is above all a bow, not a real, differentiated examination of Wilson’s work. One might as well have tried to expose the despair, the contradictions, the loneliness and the paranoia that Wilson has hidden in his arrangements bursting with harmonies and harmony in subtle melancholy – as they imply in their version of “Heads You Win, Tails I Lose”. As it is, MELT AWAY is great to listen to and not a disappointment either, but a missed opportunity.
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