It’s hard to say anything mean about The Weepies, the indie-folk duo consisting of married couple Deb Talan and Steve Tannen. They write cheery, precious songs destined for the dramatic montage moments on your favorite television show. Their sound is pleasant and inoffensive and as such, there’s little new to hear on Be My Thrill-- it isn’t broke and they haven’t fixed it.
As on past efforts, vocal duties are split between Deb and Steve, with the former taking much of the spotlight. The lite rock of “When You Go Away” and “Hope Tomorrow” will have heads bopping and “I Was Made For Sunny Days” has a sunny, ‘60s pop electric guitar glow. On the fantastic “They’re In Love, Where Am I?” Deb channels Nina Gordon, singing a wistful ode to the end of her world over gentle acoustic guitar finger picking, subtle orchestral swells, and heartbreaking vibraphone.
Steve is content to hang out in the background, though he does take center stage on the Keith Richards friendly “How Do You Get High?” and typically doot-doot-doo heavy numbers “Be My Honeypie”, “Add My Effort” and “Red Red Rose”.
The darker “Hard To Please” is a welcome break from the infectious optimism with its murky guitar strums and electric piano sonar blips. Deb laments, “In your dreams you find out, though it’s not quite how you remember” only to segue into “Not A Lullaby”, an aww-inducing non-lullaby for their son, Theo. Yes, the angst is short lived.
As evidenced by the above clip, The Weepies have plenty of Peter Paul & Mary glee and their music is charming to no end. Though it may not break any of their own musical barriers, Be My Thrill is under no obligation to change the world; it only wants to change your afternoon, for the better.
