The Weepies

One day while procrastinating and idly flipping through my iTunes I noticed I’d downloaded this band called The Weepies. I pressed the spacebar on my computer and was instantly intrigued.

I’m always looking for bands or singer-songwriters who utilize acoustic instruments, sing well–or at least interestingly–and write good lyrics.

The Weepies are refreshing. Their guitar work combines acoustic fingerpicking with tasteful, clear electric licks. I am enchanted by Deb Talan’s voice. When I first heard her sing “Painting by Chagall,” I was hooked. She’s got a different thing going on.

If you go to their Web site, you can listen to a bunch of songs for free - they come on automatically. Deb and the other member of the Weepies, Steve Tannen, are married (or as Wikipedia says, “currently married”) and have a new baby boy named Theo. From what I can gather from listening to the albums, “Happiness” and “Say I am You” (I admit I have no liner notes), it seems like they each write most of their own lyrics.

Most of Talan’s songs are upbeat; Tannen is more brooding. But they make a good match, and his songs are as alluring as hers, although in a different way. He brings a bit of a mainstream pop sound to the band, while Deb is more out there on her own.

I await the arrival of their forthcoming album, which I hear will be released any day.

Kristin Kirby

(photo credit: sarahfelicity)

April 11th, 2009 by admin | Posted in Artisits | (0)