She & Him, “Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson.”

A She & Him album full of nothing but Brian Wilson covers? The very idea sounds so twee, so arch, so Wes-Anderson-y that some people might gag on general principle. Certainly, if you’ve never warmed to Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward’s winsome, nostalgia-infused sound, nothing on Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson will change that. However, if you can get on their wavelength, their take on the Beach Boys mastermind’s oeuvre might surprise you.

For starters, Ward and Deschanel largely avoid the radio and movie soundtrack staples that everyone knows. Even the most passionate Brian Wilson devotees may not remember where some of these songs came from. On a related note, the album’s 14 tracks find a sweet spot between the sunny, fun-fun-fun façade of Wilson’s music and the anxieties and melancholy that anchor it.

Finally, the 42-year-old Deschanel and the 49-year-old Ward can simply sing these songs with more power and subtlety than the 80-year-old Wilson can. At the same time, the assured vocals and some shrewd arrangements let listeners hear the quirky brilliance of Wilson’s songwriting with fresh ears.

Melt Away opens with “Darlin’,” a track from the 1967 Beach Boys album Wild Honey. As Ward croons the praises of a girl who’s “softened my life with [her] love,” waves of multitracked harmonies from Deschanel wash over his weathered baritone like manna from heaven. When she takes the lead on the second verse, the lissome yearning in her voice lends both sadness and wonder to the line, “I couldn’t love, but now I can.”

Next up is the classic “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” which has more of a bluesy flavor here than on Pet Sounds thanks to some harmonica, slide guitar and barrelhouse piano. Deschanel’s wistful lead vocals underline the loneliness beneath the song’s dream of marital bliss.

“Til I Die,” a forlorn tune off the Beach Boys’ 1971 opus, Surf’s Up, brings that loneliness front and center. “I’m a cork on the ocean/ Floating over the raging sea,” Deschanel intones, her voice bereft of hope. Those lines retained the illusion of comfort on the original recording thanks to the famed Beach Boys harmonies. Here, with Deschanel harmonizing with herself, that illusion gets stripped away.

The fourth track, “Dierdre,” brings the mood back up as Deschanel sings over a swinging beat, “The trouble you had/ It wasn’t so bad.” Rather than deny the despair of the previous track, her lilting earnestness urges you to see it as part of a bigger picture. Ward’s steadfast guitar playing and background vocals help her drive the point home.

Next comes the title track, a standout song from Wilson’s self-titled 1988 solo album. It’s a standout here, too, thanks to the Dusty-Springfield-like vulnerability that Deschanel brings to it. When she draws out the phrase “melt away” on the chorus, you can practically feel her worries drain from her body.

After “Melt Away” comes the upbeat Beach Boys ditty “Good to My Baby.” The song’s straightforward take on romantic devotion takes on extra resonance from the earlier songs. “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder),” another Pet Sounds tune, has the feel of a classic jazz ballad thanks to Ward’s gentle guitar and Deschanel’s swooning vocals.

Next up is another Beach Boys classic, “Don’t Worry Baby.” With Ward singing lead on the verses and Deschanel chiming in on the chorus, the key change between the two parts of the song becomes much more striking. It’s as if the tune itself changes in response to Ward’s mood change.

Ward and Deschanel navigate the mind-bending key changes of “This Whole World” with equal ease, giving a suitably light touch to the song’s musings on love around the globe. Their tender handling of “Kiss Me Baby” might make some wonder if that song should’ve been the A-side and “Help Me, Rhonda” the B-side.

“Do It Again” features a lead vocal from Wilson himself, which has its charm but definitely benefits from Deschanel and Ward’s backup. The surf rock deep cut “Heads You Win – Tails I Lose” provides some comic relief thanks to the track’s goofy, distorted vocals and Dick-Dale-lite guitar. Languorous ballad “Please Let Me Wander” offers more proof that Deschanel really should talk with Ward about doing some more Dusty Springfield covers.

She & Him say goodbye with the sweet lullaby “Meant for You.” Their minds are at peace, each of them declares, “And I’m hoping that you’ll find it too.”

Follow reporter Ben Schultz at Instagram.com/benjamin.schultz1.