Kevin Bronson on March 1st, 2019

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In song, Celeste Tauchar — you pronounce the surname like her band name, Talker — reveals her emotions like waves arrive on the shoreline: Gently, gently, gently, gently … until a big breaker crashes the reverie.

In front of a robust crowd Wednesday night at the Hi Hat, the Sacramento-reared, University of Miami-schooled singer-songwriter proved adept at the soft/loud dynamic that injects her debut EP, “Horror Films,” with both vulnerability and strength. Her sound recalls the sometimes-tricky marriage of grunge and pop present on Miya Folick’s debut EP back in 2015.

Relationship bruises and self-doubt are fodder for “Collateral Damage” and “Intimidated,” respectively, the two singles that bookended Talker’s nine-song set. Each seduces with syrupy vocal melody before exploding into something affirming and even defiant. Though not quite a vocal powerhouse, Tauchar proved brawny (an more importantly, convincing) enough to pierce the walls of sound built by her ace backing band, especially guitarist Dan Sadin. With keyboardist Chanel Samson, bassist Allee Futterer and drummer JR Kurtz, Talker as a five-piece elevated the songwriter’s confessionals into rock ’n’ roll drama.

Tauchar, switching between acoustic and electric guitar all night, marveled at the turnout. It was clear from the sing-alongs that many already knew the five songs on her EP. She provided a glimpse of the future by performing three new songs, highlighted by “Personal Space,” a tune co-written with Steven Colyer, one of five artists who performed brief opening sets.

And the ah-hah moment came two-thirds of the way through the show, when Talker tossed in a cover of TV On The Radio’s 2006 hit “Wolf Like Me.” It ends with the chant “We’re howling forever,” and Talker is just getting started.

Photos by Brandon Hardy

||| Stream: The “Horror Films” EP

||| Previously: “Intimidated”