Tampa Bay’s own indie alt-rock progeny Tallhart (formerly Marksmen) come home this Saturday, after a summer-long national tour, to celebrate the official release of their newest record, We Are the Same.
The band’s second album with Rory Records (the Equal Vision imprint of Say Anything’s Max Bemis), We Are the Same offers more instrumental dimension than previous releases, without bringing anything that feels foreign or uncharacteristic in terms of sound.
While inching closer to mainstream American rock, Tallhart’s Southern flair is not lost in the new album — and neither is their indie edge. Frontman Matt Segallos’s buttery vocals are dynamic as ever, transitioning effortlessly from powerful and booming to lush falsetto.
Opener “Our Bodies” blends swirly melodies with a breezy refrain creating a hymnal, choir-like quality that is echoed on a few later tracks. Haunting gang vocals darken the mood in songs like “See God Again,” but gain reprieve in the folksy two-minute acoustic jaunt, “Holy Coast.”
One of the most memorable tracks, “High Speed,” contains the album’s standout (read catchiest) lyrics –- I like to think that we were made to remember/ I like to think that we were made to be something more.
Overall, Segallos along with bassist Glenn Espinoza, guitarist Christopher Brickman and recording drummer Aaron Lunsford (brought in after the departure of original drummer Reed Murray), produce a consistent, easy-to-listen-to and worthwhile sophomore album in We Are the Same.
They bring their impassioned live show to Crowbar in Ybor City on Saturday, Aug. 10 with local openers Goodnight Neverland, Makari and Lions After Dark.
