I can’t remember how I first discovered The Weepies. I just remember being drawn to them right away.

They’re a husband-and-wife duo — Deb Talan and Steve Tannen — and the music they make together sounds exactly like that sounds: warm, close, two voices that know each other well. The harmonies are effortless without feeling polished to the point of lifelessness. The arrangements stay clean. And the lyrics actually mean something — not drivel, not filler, just honest songs about real things.

Their album Hideaway is where my wife and I always land. It’s not a concept album or anything with an overarching story — every track just stands on its own, and somehow every track is good. That’s rarer than it sounds.

Our favorite is “Antarctica.” It’s a playful, story-driven song — someone goes to Antarctica, takes it all in, and comes back to New York City where it turns out they feel more at home. It’s a small story, but the way it’s told, the way it moves, the melody — it’s the kind of song you find yourself singing along with before you realize you’ve learned all the words.

We were lucky enough to see them live when they came through our town. Front row seats. They didn’t have their full band — it was more of an unplugged set — but that almost made it better. And afterward, with VIP tickets, we got to sit down with them. I don’t remember the specifics of the conversation anymore. I just remember that they were really nice, and that the whole night felt like something.

They’re not actively making music together anymore, which is a shame. But everything they left behind is still there. Hideaway is a good place to start. One word keeps coming back to me when I think about them: beautiful.