diff --git a/backend/app/routers/photos.py b/backend/app/routers/photos.py
index 3d92540..24d377b 100644
--- a/backend/app/routers/photos.py
+++ b/backend/app/routers/photos.py
@@ -146,17 +146,21 @@ async def list_photos(
         )
 
     # Tag filter — comma-separated tag ids, AND semantics. A photo must
-    # have a row in photo_tags for EVERY listed tag. Implemented as one
-    # subquery per tag id since SQLite doesn't have an efficient
-    # "set-contains-all" operator.
+    # have a row in photo_tags for EVERY listed tag. Implemented as a
+    # single GROUP BY ... HAVING COUNT(DISTINCT) = N subquery so the cost
+    # is independent of the number of tags being filtered.
     if tag_ids:
         tag_id_list = [t.strip() for t in tag_ids.split(',') if t.strip()]
-        for tid in tag_id_list:
-            filters.append(
-                Photo.id.in_(
-                    select(photo_tags.c.photo_id).where(photo_tags.c.tag_id == tid)
+        if tag_id_list:
+            matching_photos = (
+                select(photo_tags.c.photo_id)
+                .where(photo_tags.c.tag_id.in_(tag_id_list))
+                .group_by(photo_tags.c.photo_id)
+                .having(
+                    func.count(func.distinct(photo_tags.c.tag_id)) == len(tag_id_list)
                 )
             )
+            filters.append(Photo.id.in_(matching_photos))
 
     # Apply all filters
     if filters:
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/filter/FilterPill.tsx b/frontend/src/components/filter/FilterPill.tsx
index ea7450c..cb170f6 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/filter/FilterPill.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/filter/FilterPill.tsx
@@ -106,17 +106,26 @@ export function FilterPill({
           <span className="font-mono text-[11px] opacity-90">{value}</span>
         )}
         {isActive && onClear ? (
-          <button
+          <span
+            role="button"
+            tabIndex={0}
             onClick={(e) => {
               e.stopPropagation()
               onClear()
             }}
-            className="ml-0.5 rounded-full p-0.5 hover:bg-primary/30"
+            onKeyDown={(e) => {
+              if (e.key === 'Enter' || e.key === ' ') {
+                e.preventDefault()
+                e.stopPropagation()
+                onClear()
+              }
+            }}
+            className="ml-1 inline-flex h-5 w-5 cursor-pointer items-center justify-center rounded-full hover:bg-primary/30"
             title={`Clear ${label}`}
             aria-label={`Clear ${label}`}
           >
             <X className="h-3 w-3" />
-          </button>
+          </span>
         ) : (
           <ChevronDown className="h-3 w-3 opacity-60" />
         )}
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/layout/RightSidebar.tsx b/frontend/src/components/layout/RightSidebar.tsx
index 7107737..7273ace 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/layout/RightSidebar.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/layout/RightSidebar.tsx
@@ -97,6 +97,7 @@ export function RightSidebar() {
             onClick={clearSelection}
             className="rounded p-1 text-text-muted hover:bg-surface-2 hover:text-text"
             title="Clear selection"
+            aria-label="Clear selection"
           >
             <X className="h-4 w-4" />
           </button>
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/timeline/Timeline.tsx b/frontend/src/components/timeline/Timeline.tsx
index 6a551d2..713a31c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/timeline/Timeline.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/timeline/Timeline.tsx
@@ -422,7 +422,7 @@ export function Timeline() {
        *  positioned children so it isn't affected by translateY transforms.
        *  Updates as the user scrolls past month boundaries. */}
       {stickyLabel && (
-        <div className="pointer-events-none absolute left-0 right-0 top-0 z-20 border-b border-border bg-bg/90 px-4 py-1 backdrop-blur-sm">
+        <div className="pointer-events-none absolute left-0 right-0 top-0 z-20 border-b-2 border-border bg-bg/95 px-4 py-1.5 shadow-sm backdrop-blur">
           <h3 className="text-sm font-semibold uppercase tracking-wide text-text">
             {stickyLabel}
           </h3>
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useFilterUrlSync.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useFilterUrlSync.ts
index fe27541..51b7109 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useFilterUrlSync.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useFilterUrlSync.ts
@@ -28,9 +28,14 @@ const ALLOWED_SORT_FIELDS: SortField[] = [
 ]
 const ALLOWED_SORT_ORDERS: SortOrder[] = ['asc', 'desc']
 
-function parseUrl(): Partial<FilterState> {
+// What parseUrl returns: a partial filter state, plus the optional
+// section id (which lives on the store but isn't part of FilterState
+// itself). The hydrate action accepts this exact shape.
+type HydratePayload = Partial<FilterState> & { currentSection?: string }
+
+function parseUrl(): HydratePayload {
   const sp = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search)
-  const out: Partial<FilterState> = {}
+  const out: HydratePayload = {}
 
   const q = sp.get('q')
   if (q) out.q = q
@@ -83,7 +88,7 @@ function parseUrl(): Partial<FilterState> {
   if (groupBy === 'date' || groupBy === 'tag') out.groupBy = groupBy
 
   const section = sp.get('section')
-  if (section) (out as any).currentSection = section
+  if (section) out.currentSection = section
 
   const sortBy = sp.get('sort')
   if (sortBy && ALLOWED_SORT_FIELDS.includes(sortBy as SortField)) {