Have yourself a twee little Christmas

Let’s face it: Zooey Deschanel, queen of every next Hollywood hipster production even before it’s created, is reason enough to buy She & Him’s latest record.  

Her third collaboration with M. Ward is a festive holiday mix of the classics. Deschanel writes three of the 12 tracks on the album, with opener “The Christmas Waltz” as a highlight.

Deschanel has the uncanny ability to vary her voice from Marilyn-raspy to Etta-smooth. The honey-laden “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” is successful in seducing college students — in longing for soon-to-arrive winter holidays, that is.

Setting the tempo for “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is perhaps the one wrong turn the duo took. The cover flows raggedly, too quickly to convey the sensual mood the original was written to produce. Deschanel’s voice has also been digitally altered — a tragedy, given her natural talent.  

She & Him claim to live in an alternate universe where “rain may be coming down, but somewhere nearby, everything looks bright,” and if this record is any indication, they’re right.