The Weepies

Addie Reine
December 18, 2009
Filed under Music Reviews, Reviews

Soothing harmonies artfully construceted by this two-person group entangled in the guitar’s distinct picking mesh to create an eerie and pleasant tones. The way that these blissful melodies snatch a listener’s attention prove that the Weepies are not your everyday folk music artists.

Do not be misled by the fact that The Weepies are categorized as an indie pop-folk group. Although they are not your typical alternative artists, their lyrics construct a universal bridge by painting vivid images that allow any listener to connect with the song.

Relationships are a given when it comes to song content. “Gotta Have You,” with soft beats and memorable guitar phrases, and “World Spins Madly On”, with a quick and calming strum of the acoustic guitar in the background, are both songs from the album “Say I Am You” which focuses on relationships.

Groovy and tinted with distortion mixed with an acoustic guitar, “Hideaway” is the title of an album and one of their hit songs that portrays how the Weepies often compare situations captured by their songs to nature and animals in a refreshing way. “Even the stars sometimes fade to gray,” resonates in this song’s chorus.

The Weepies’ style takes music a whole step forward. Just look at how they are categorized– indie, folk and pop are anything but similar, yet somehow the talented artists manage to wrap it up into a series of songs.

Deb Talan and Steve Tannen were once two independent singer-songwriters; however, upon meeting at Club Passim in Massachusetts, where they found a deep musical connection, they have been playing together ever since. “Say I am You”, their first album to receive mainstream attention, ignited their success in 2006.

Along with their music appearing in more than twelve TV shows as well as in several motion pictures and commercials, The Weepies were nominated for a Short List Music Prize. Their continuously expanding audience allowed for their iTunes sales to top the folk charts in eight countries and the duo was asked to play in countless music festivals throughout the year.

Yearning for more musical discovery, the artists immediately started writing their next album when their crazy year on the road came to an end in 2007. “We were empty,” says Talan on their website. “We both felt dark after being in the bright lights for a year. We were looking to reconnect with what moved us about music in the first place. We needed to hide out and write.”

“Hideaway”, the product of their brief time away from fame, became yet another hit. Although slightly tinted with the theme of struggle and loneliness instead of the lovey-dovey feel of their first album, it complemented their previous album wonderfully.

The Weepies’ only members, Deb Talan and Steve Tannen, sing and write their songs with an incredible sense of unity that must come from their recent marriage in 2007. Altogether the relaxing and thought provoking masterpieces of Steve and Deb have won their place in music history.