Much of the best music is autobiographical. Such music builds a bridge between the artist and the listener, reveals something about its maker, and, while coming from a personal place, is also highly relatable. It reminds us that the trials and tribulations of the human condition are something we all have in common. And if the best music is autobiographical, Tamar Berk writes her own account with an honesty and vulnerability that is often breathtaking.
Her albums have always been chapters in her story, whether it is her debut The Restless Dreams of Youth, which tells of her travels from Cleveland to Chicago and San Diego by way of Portland, or last year’s Tiny Injuries and its journey to the heart of grief. Her new one, Good Times For A Change has a wonderfully ambiguous title – is the time right to make a change or are the times uncharacteristically good – and it kicks off with her current single “Good Impression”, a song that marries pop infectiousness with rock, groove, a Bangles-esque, Blondie-infused balance of balls and beauty, a song forged between pop and a hard place.
But it only shows one aspect of her music, such is Berk’s peerage. “Book of Change” is draped in folk finesse, a hazy and heavenly piece of harmony which the golden age Simon and Garfunkel would have loved to have had in their back catalogue. “Sorrow is Hunting” rises from gentle balladry into searing blues-rock heights, “Millenium Park” ebbs and flows between shimmering indie folk and brooding and bruised rock and “Be My Friend” jumps between Suzanne Vega style, finessed acoustic pop and a more bouncy vibe that runs with an almost kindergarten-sing-along, wide-eyed innocence.
And, despite these various sonic moods and music styles, everything here feels like Tamar Berk, I guess because it all flows from and through her personality, enriching everything with her openness and honesty.
Rarely have I listened to an album and felt as if I knew the artist so intimately.
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