New Releases: Good Times For A Change

An online music friend turned me on to SoCal singer-songwriter Tamar Berk just yesterday, and I've been on an absolute non-stop binge of her music for the past 24 hours. Which is a lot--four terrific albums over the past four years, including a new one, Good Times For A Change, due for release next month but available for preview and pre-order over on Bandcamp.

Berk is another admirable entry in the recent crop of indie women who add some maturity and bite to their confessional songwriting--I can slot her in comfortably alongside other favorites like, say, Adult Mom or Snail Mail, and she reminds me of Vanessa Peters, another artist I've spent a ton of time with in recent years. But Berk's roots go deep--she's been kicking around in various bands and as a solo artist for a quarter-century, and her origins in the 90s Chicago indie scene shine through, particularly on her earlier records. Not surprisingly, you can draw a line from Liz Phair and PJ Harvey to her current work (the new LP includes online access to some 1997 recordings with her original band, produced by the late great Steve Albini, making those PJ roots apparent); plus, bonus points for conjuring the oft-overlooked Jen Trynin.

For last year's Tiny Injuries, Berk wove in some upbeat new wave pop sounds, a perky veneer that helped ease the edge off some of the trauma that informed her lyrics. Those 80s elements pop up a few times on the new one as well, most notably on album opener "Good Impression," which somehow has me thinking about both "Kids In America" and "Let My Love Open The Door." Indeed, a chunk of the record is infused with a more radio-friendly pop vibe, a perfect spin for an Olivia Rodrigo's fan's cool parents (or at least cool older cousin). Not just the 80s shout-outs, but the sophisticated baroque pop strains of tracks like "Artful Dodger" and "Chicago."

The debt to 90s indie rock is still here as well, whether in the grungy guitars of the delightfully catchy "That's Not A Lie" or the Aimee Mann-like "I Don't Mind." In a few places Berk goes big--the gripping ballad "Sorrow Is Hunting" cuts loose into almost Pink Floyd-like classic rock bombast (in a good way), as does the album-closing "Comin' Around To Me Again"--but this is balanced by a few sparser, more emotionally-raw ballads (like the gorgeous heartbreak of "Book Of Change").

Pick it up on Bandcamp, and while you're there check out her three prior records--the makings of some serious binge-listening. 

 No videos from the new LP up yet on YouTube, but here's "Permanent Vacation" from her last one: