If you want to hear one album this season that will put you in the Christmas Spirit without feeling like you’ve heard it before, check out She & Him’s new Album, “Christmas Party.” She & Him is a duo made up Zooey Deschanel on piano, ukulele and vocals, and M. Ward on guitar and vocals. They got together in 2006 (pre-“New Girl”) after meeting on the set of the movie “The Go Getter.” The two of them have produced six albums together, two of which, “A Very She & Him Christmas” and “Christmas Party,” are filled with classic Christmas music. A majority of the songs they do together are classic midcentury crooner songs. Deschanel’s voice lends itself extremely well to this era — it’s almost as if she were born in the wrong decade. Ward has a scruffier-sounding voice, which balances well with Deschanel’s.
One of the most interesting covers on the album is “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” It is a pleasant take on the Mariah Carey classic — She & Him take it in a more early rock direction. You can almost picture Deschanel standing on a retro stage singing to a crowd of tweens trying to jive in their oxfords and poodle skirts. “Christmas Don’t Be Late” is a more melancholy, less-squeaky version of the Chipmunks original, but just as cute. Overall, “Christmas Party” is a great mix of soothing classics and quirky numbers that will lift your spirits and have you trying to figure out just how to string popcorn and roast chestnuts over an open fire.
Here is a Christmas playlist for your enjoyment this season!
White Christmas by Sleeping at Last from “Christmas Collection”
All I want for Christmas is You by She & Him from “Christmas Party”
O Come All ye Faithful (Let Us Adore Him) by Rend Collective from “Collective Campfire Christmas”
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Pentatonix from “A Pentatonix Christmas”
O Come O Come Emmanuel by The Civil Wars from “Tracks in the Snow”
12 Days of Christmas by Straight No Chaser from “Christmas Cheers”
Sleigh Ride by Relient K from “Let it Snow Baby…Let it Reindeer”
Let it Snow by Ella Fitzgerald from “Ella and Louis Christmas”
I’ll be Home for Christmas by Bing Crosby from “White Christmas”
Christmastime is Here by Lauren Diagle from “Behold”
Once in Royal David’s City by Sufjan Stevens from “Songs for Christmas”
Joy to the World by Andrew Ripp from “Light of Mine”
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Ingrid Michaelson (single)
https://open.spotify.com/user/nataliehenderson10/playlist/3K1KpK2GX8xHWAOAoXe7wL