Celeste Tauchar’s indie rock project goes by the name talker – a nod to how people
mispronounce her last name. The LA artist gets an A+ in all the categories that matter:
brilliant songwriting (featuring Anne Sexton-caliber poems/lyrics), fabulous vocals, and
larger-than-life production. If you put the music of Tom Petty, Taylor Swift and Wolf
Alice in a blender, you’d have a rough idea of what talker is trying to achieve.
“IRL”, a highlight from this year’s In Awe of Insignificance EP, is social media shorthand for “in real life” and talker’s new video for the song explores how most relationships never reach burn-all-bridges intensity in real life.
The chorus and bridge in “IRL” are as breathtaking as anything attempted in indie pop
this year, and Tauchar reveals:
“The most challenging thing about ‘IRL’ was getting the vocal performance right. It was recorded during quarantine so I recorded the vocals myself in my bedroom and then sent them to the song’s producer Danny Murcia. The song obviously has a huge sound and that vocal part is really anthemic so it was difficult to tap into that headspace in my tiny bedroom. It took a few takes to really get into that zone.”
talker’s In Awe Of Insignificance is one of the very best EPs of 2022. In addition to “IRL”,
there’s the radio-friendly emo of “Don’t Want You To Love Me” – plus “Growing Up”, a
search-for-identity anthem that you could hear young Bruce Springsteen playing in huge
arenas. But the most searing songs on the EP deal with mental health. “My Meds” is
about how needed medications can turn the world into a listless purgatory.
Celeste Tauchar is truly one of the most artistically ambitious pop talents in recent
memory. Listen to her latest EP… and you’ll be in awe.
