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The Weepies – Be My Thrill – 2010 – CD review

retroDan — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 19:08:11 +0000

Deb Talan and Steve Tannen make writing catchy melodies seem so easy. Obviously it’s not but these ear candy-like pop songs on Be My Thrill just seem so effortless and natural. These sunny, sing-a-long tunes are ready-made for minivans and coffeeshops all across the nation. The simple arrangements and none too deep lyrics allow for easy consumption and doesn’t require your full attention. At times, I found myself wanting to hear a longer instrumental passage or a stinging guitar solo but alas, that’s not what the Weepies are about and I’m fine with that.

Talan and Tannen have found joy in parenthood and they sum it up nicely in the last verse of “Empty Your Hands”:
Our baby learned to run today in circles on the grass
His joyful face it radiates
These moments go so fast, let them go…

And I’m totally glad that they’re enjoying life with a toddler but I’m still taking points off for the overly sweet lyrical content here. Personally I prefer a bit more balance of the “sweet” with some “dark” so I find the new album a bit too saccharine for me. I actually prefer their previous album, Hideaway, which features some darker material. ..Well, “darker” for this duo anyway.

favorites off the new album include: “When You Go Away”, “Red Red Rose”, “Be My HoneyPie” and “How Do You Get High?”

retroGrade: B

Be My Thrill by The Weepies
released: August 2010
label: Nettwerk

TrackList:
1 Please Speak Well of Me 2:34
2 When You Go Away 2:19
3 Red Red Rose 2:50
4 I Was Made for Sunny Days 3:13
5 They’re in Love, Where Am I? 2:23
6 Add My Effort 3:12
7 Be My Thrill 2:29
8 Be My Honeypie 2:10
9 Hummingbird 2:45
10 Hard to Please 4:12
11 Not a Lullaby 2:37
12 How Do You Get High? 2:36
13 Hope Tomorrow 1:59
14 Empty Your Hands 3:09
all songs written by Talan/Tannen

The Weepies 2010 U.S. Tour Dates:

Sun 10/10/10 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre
Tue 10/12/10 Santa Barbara, CA Soho Restaurant & Music Club
Wed 10/13/10 San Diego, CA Winston’s Beach Club
Thu 10/14/10 San Juan Capistrano, CA The Coach House
Fri 10/15/10 Visalia, CA Visalia Fox Theatre
Sat 10/16/10 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
Sun 10/17/10 Chico, CA El Rey Theatre
Tue 10/19/10 Eugene, OR Shedd Institute For The Arts
Wed 10/20/10 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater
Thu 10/21/10 Seattle, WA The Crocodile
Fri 10/22/10 Boise, ID The Bouquet
Sat 10/23/10 Salt Lake City, UT The State Room
Sun 10/24/10 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
Tue 10/26/10 Iowa City, IA The Englert Theatre
Wed 10/27/10 Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center
Thu 10/28/10 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon
Fri 10/29/10 Indianapolis, IN Radio Radio
Sat 10/30/10 Evanston, IL SPACE
Mon 11/01/10 Grand Rapids, MI Calvin College Fine Arts Auditorium
Tue 11/02/10 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
Wed 11/03/10 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom & Tavern
Fri 11/05/10 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live
Sat 11/06/10 Londonderry, NH Tupelo Music Hall
Sun 11/07/10 Boston, MA Royale Boston
Mon 11/08/10 Fairfield, CT StageOne
Wed 11/10/10 New York, NY Hiro Ballroom @ Maritime Hotel
Thu 11/11/10 Falls Church, VA State Theatre
Fri 11/12/10 Norfolk, VA Attucks Theatre
Sat 11/13/10 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theatre
Sun 11/14/10 Charleston, WV Cultural Center Theater
Mon 11/15/10 Annapolis, MD Rams Head On Stage
Tue 11/16/10 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theatre
Wed 11/17/10 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
Fri 11/19/10 Dallas, TX Lakewood Theater
Sat 11/20/10 Austin, TX Momo’s Club
Mon 11/22/10 Tucson, AZ Plush
Tue 11/23/10 Phoenix, AZ The Rhythm Room

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the Weepies announce 2010 Be My Thrill tour dates

retroDan — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:08:40 +0000

The Weepies are set to hit the road after a four year break from touring. They’ll be supporting their new album Be My Thrill which will hit the stores August 31st courtesy of Nettwerk Records. I’m looking forward to seeing them live. Hopefully Deb Talan and Steve Tannen will also include songs from their album Hideaway in their setlist since they didn’t get a chance to tour behind it back in 2008. It’s definitely a personal favorite of mine.

2010 U.S. tour dates
10/10/2010 Los Angeles CA El Rey Theatre
10/13/2010 San Diego CA Winston’s
10/14/2010 San Juan Capistrano CA Coach House
10/15/2010 Visalia CA Fox Theatre
10/16/2010 San Francisco CA Great American Music Hall
10/17/2010 Chico CA El Rey Theatre
10/19/2010 Eugene OR John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts
10/20/2010 Portland OR Aladdin Theater
10/21/2010 Seattle WA City Arts Music Festival – The Crocodile
10/22/2010 Boise ID The Bouquet
10/23/2010 Salt Lake City UT The State Room
10/24/2010 Englewood CO The Gothic Theatre
10/26/2010 Iowa City IA The Englert Theater
10/27/2010 Minneapolis MN Cedar Cultural Center
10/28/2010 Madison WI High Noon Saloon
10/30/2010 Evanston IL SPACE
11/1/2010 Grand Rapids MI Ladies Literary Club
11/2/2010 Ann Arbor MI The Ark
11/3/2010 Cleveland OH Beachland Ballroom
11/5/2010 Philadelphia PA World Cafe Live
11/6/2010 Londonderry NH Tupelo Music Hall
11/7/2010 Boston MA Royale Nightclub
11/8/2010 Fairfield CT FTC Stage One
11/10/2010 New York NY Hiro Ballroom
11/11/2010 Falls Church VA The State Theatre
11/12/2010 Norfolk VA The Attucks Theater
11/14/2010 Charleston WV Mountain Stage
11/15/2010 Annapolis MD Rams Head On Stage
11/17/2010 Atlanta GA Variety Playhouse
11/19/2010 Dallas TX Lakewood Theater
11/20/2010 Austin TX Momo’s
11/23/2010 Phoenix AZ The Rhythm Room

Be My Thrill Tracklist:
1 Please Speak Well of Me
2 When You Go Away
3 Red Red Rose
4 I Was Made For Sunny Days
5 They’re In Love, Where Am I?
6 Add My Effort
7 Be My Thrill
8 Be My Honeypie
9 Hummingbird
10 Hard To Please
11 Not a Lullaby
12 How Do You Get High?
13 Hope Tomorrow
14 Empty Your Hands

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Hideaway by The Weepies

retroDan — Wed, 28 May 2008 17:19:10 +0000

what can I say that hasn’t already been said about the Weepies on the blogosphere? the darlings of music bloggers worldwide, The Weepies, released their latest album, Hideaway about a month ago. the CD has been playing practically non-stop in the car ever since the official release date. you know, I consider the album “easy-listening” ..and not in a derogatory way as in “Barry Manilow” or “Engelbert Humperdinck” but for it’s immediacy and melodic tunefulness. Deb Talan and Steve Tannen make it all seem easy the way they come up with catchy hooks and sweet sounding harmonies. and even though they seem effortless, the songs are actually well thought out with marvelously intricate arrangements that blend perfectly with one another. and I absolutely love the way some of the darker lyrics balance out the pleasant sounding melodies and harmonies in songs like “How You Survived the War” and “Wish I Could Forget”. the only thing negative I can say about the album is the production/mixing. all the instrumentation and vocals seem to be highly compressed and mixed to the foreground so that everything that’s going on the mix is right in your face. I suppose that’s the “modern” way of mixing these days but I would have liked a more “subtle” approach to the mix to compliment the gentleness of the songs. with everything being compressed this way, we’ve lost any sort of “dynamics” in the songs. but fortunately, the writing and the performances captured here transcends the claustrophobic mix.

The Weepies: The Making of Hideaway

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Hideaway tracklist:

1 Orbiting (Talan, Tannen) 2:55
2 Hideaway (Talan, Tannen) 2:46
3 Wish I Could Forget (Talan, Tannen) 2:56
4 All Good Things (Moore, Talan, Tannen) 2:55
5 Little Bird (Talan, Tannen) 3:33
6 Antarctica (Talan, Tannen) 3:14
7 How You Survived the War (Talan, Tannen) 3:35
8 Not Dead Yet (Talan, Tannen) 3:19
9 Old Coyote (Talan, Tannen) 3:38
10 Just Blue (Talan, Tannen) 4:04
11 Lighting Candles (Talan, Tannen) 3:07
12 Takes So Long (Talan, Tannen) 3:06
13 All This Beauty (Talan, Tannen) 3:19

Mandy Moore – Wild Hope

retroDan — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 21:21:31 +0000

extraordinary? ..not so much. more toward the ordinary if you ask me. i do have to give her props for not giving in to pressure from record executives and staying true to her own vision. and what is her own vision, you ask? well, from listening to Wild Hope I would have to say something in the realm of 70′s era Joni Mitchell and Fleetwood Mac. essentially bland retro-folk-singer-songwriter type music. it’s very surprising to hear if you remember her days as a teen-pop idol. the changeover happened around 2003 with her covers album called Coverage. She recorded music by artists like Joni Mitchell, Todd Rundgren, Joe Jackson and John Hiatt. when you start from there, you can see that Wild Hope is an extention from that album. where the album falters basically boils down to material. half of the 12 tracks are simply not that memorable. songs like Can’t You Just Adore Her?, Gardenia and Ladies Choice may be suited for background music at your local coffee shop but they just don’t stand on their own with repeated listening. that being said, the album’s not all bad. there are a few standouts, including Looking Foward to Looking Back, Extraordinary, Wild Hope and Nothing That You Are. Nothing That You Are is most notable for being a homage to Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and the rest of Fleetwood Mac. the tom-tom work on the drums, the backing harmonies, the bass guitar work during the verses and the guitar solos all scream FLEETWOOD MAC and fortunately it all works for the tune. there’s a great hook in the chorus and as an extra bonus we all get to hear sweet lil’ Mandy Moore sing the line “I hope you burn in hell”. priceless. probably worth getting the disc just for that one song.

Track List:
1. Extraordinary
2. All Good Things
3. Slummin’ In Paradise
4. Most Of Me
5. Looking Forward To Looking Back
6. Few Days Down
7. Nothing That You Are
8. Wild Hope
9. Latest Mistake
10. Can’t You Just Adore Her?
11. Ladies Choice
12. Gardenia

view the video for Extraordinary on youtube.

The electronic press kit for the new album is viewable there as well.