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• Tall Tale

Tall Tale describes their music as sounding like “the way you felt the first time you saw Peter Pan.” I was skeptical, but after listening I can certainly say they strengthened this notion with their debut album Pirate Ship. Pirate Ship opens with the wispy vocals and steady piano build from Tracey Morrison. Things quickly pick up, exemplifying the diverse nature of Tall Tale’s sound right on the first (and title) track.

Tracks like “Pirate Ship,” “Apology,” and “Tango” are great examples of Tall Tale’s use of everyone’s talents. The band sounds full with Morrison’s steady and melodic piano, and the guitar and drum work do a great job of keeping things upbeat. The combination is interesting because there is a lot of weight to the songs from vocals and piano work, but the overall compilation remains fun, and it often builds to some unexpected rocking.

The band shows another side of their talent in the extremely stripped down “Tree Song.” This is where Tall Tale uses their “indie folk” card and takes a break from that piano rock. A light and beautiful finger plucked guitar accompanies Morrison’s vocals for about one minute, until the piano and drums come in to give this folk tune new dimensions.

I thoroughly enjoy the full and rhythmic tracks on this album, but I think the challenge facing Tall Tale in the future is perfecting their more balled-esque songs. I found myself getting somewhat antsy during longer and slower tracks like “Expectations.”

If you’re up for a unique combination of indie rock, pop, and folk, Pirate Ship will deliver. You can buy it on iTunes now. And while Tall Tale is a local band, it sounds like they may be moving places quickly, so catch them performing here while you can!