A Very She & Him Christmas
| A Very She & Him Christmas | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:A Very She and Him Christmas.jpg | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 24, 2011 | |||
| Recorded | 2011 | |||
| Studio | Kingsize Soundlabs (Los Angeles, California) The Magic Shop (New York City, New York) | |||
| Genre | Indie pop, Christmas | |||
| Length | 32:05 | |||
| Label | Merge | |||
| Producer | M. Ward | |||
| She & Him chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 63/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Entertainment Weekly | B [2] |
| Pitchfork | (5.3/10) [3] |
| PopMatters |   [4] |
| Under the Radar | [5] |
| NME | [6] |
A Very She & Him Christmas is the first Christmas album and the third studio album by the folk/indie rock band She & Him, consisting of actress and musician Zooey Deschanel and musician M. Ward. The album was released on October 24, 2011,[7] and features several covers of classic holiday songs. The twelve-track album is distributed by Merge Records and proceeds from every album sold are being donated to 826 National, a nonprofit network of writing and tutoring centers.[8]
Their cover of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" was featured in the Christmas episode "The 23rd" of the TV-show New Girl, which stars Zooey Deschanel.
In 2012 it was awarded a silver certification from the Independent Music Companies Association which indicated sales of at least 20,000 copies throughout Europe and over 391,000 in the U.S.[9]
Reception
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 63, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[10]
PopMatters gave the album a score of 7/10, writing that it was "plain beautiful" and that it was "a calm, simple and easy to listen to recording to sit with and relax."[4] A more mixed review from Pitchfork said that the songs were "just fine" but that She & Him "played this one too safe."[3]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Christmas Waltz" | Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne | 2:37 |
| 2. | "Christmas Day" | Brian Wilson | 3:24 |
| 3. | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin | 3:42 |
| 4. | "I'll Be Home for Christmas" | Walter Kent, Kim Gannon, Buck Ram | 2:26 |
| 5. | "Christmas Wish" | Joey Spampinato | 2:58 |
| 6. | "Sleigh Ride" | Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish | 2:44 |
| 7. | "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" | Johnny Marks | 2:00 |
| 8. | "Silver Bells" | Jay Livingston, Ray Evans | 1:57 |
| 9. | "Baby, It's Cold Outside" | Frank Loesser | 2:17 |
| 10. | "Blue Christmas" | Billy Hayes, Jay W. Johnson | 3:24 |
| 11. | "Little Saint Nick" | Wilson, Mike Love | 2:10 |
| 12. | "The Christmas Song" | Bob Wells, Mel Tormé | 2:26 |
Personnel
- She & Him
- Additional personnel
- Jim Keltner – percussion
- Pierre de Reeder – Engineer, Percussion on "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"
- Mike Post - Assistant Engineer
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[11] | 12 |
| US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[12] | 2 |
| US Folk Albums (Billboard)[13] | 1 |
| US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)[14] | 2 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[15] | 1 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[16] | 3 |
| US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[17] | 4 |
References
- ^ "A Very She & Him Christmas by She & Him". Metacritic. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
- ^ "EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. October 25, 2011.
- ^ a b "Pitchfork Media Review".
- ^ a b "PopMatters review".
- ^ "Under the Radar review".
- ^ Mike Williams (2011-10-25). "She & Him - 'A Very She & Him Christmas'". NME.com. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
- ^ "'A Very She & Him Christmas' Available in Stores and Online Today!". Official She & Him website. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
- ^ "826 National and 'A Very She & Him Christmas.'".
- ^ http://www.vut.de/index.php?id=42&tx_vutnews_pi1%5Barticle%5D=210&cHash=b7db7c5c120f55ac6c06cd370dbeec86
- ^ "Critic Reviews for 'A Very She & Him Christmas' at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved on November 12, 2011.
- ^ "She & Him Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
- ^ "She & Him Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard.
- ^ "She & Him Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard.
- ^ "She & Him Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard.
- ^ "She & Him Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
- ^ "She & Him Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
- ^ "She & Him Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.