"Permanent Vacation" is the fourth single from Tamar Berk's third album
tiny injuries (Bandcamp) (there’s a PP4NP review for that). The video, directed by Brandon
Mosquero, was inspired by Berk’s first vacation since the pandemic along with
her fears of traveling, flying, and crowds. Despite these anxieties she hoped
the trip would change her and make her a different person. Mission accomplished.
The video, however, reflects the earlier concerns of both
the pandemic and travelling as Berk is dressed completely in an astronaut suit even
when doing mundane tasks like grocery shopping. (As a side note, fans of Matt Smith-era Doctor Who may recall a similar look during the The Impossible Astronaut episode.)
The Shop Window, "I Run"
“I Run” is the third single from The Shop Window’s forthcoming
two-record (16 track) Daysdream to be released in May (you can pre-order here).
Earlier albums and singles highlighted the jangle and shoegaze
elements of the band’s sound which are to be even more evident as they are to
be split between the two discs of Daysdream. In addition, the 16 songs will
showcase co-writers and co-lead vocalists Carl Mann and Syd Oxlee as they expand The Shop Window’s sound (now with a second guitarist!).
It’s clear from the DaysDream Bandcamp page that “I Run” will be leading off the collection and is what my friends from across the pond would call a banger of a tune.
Along with the previous two singles (including "It's A High" and yes there's a review for that too) “I Run” gives a glimpse into what an
amazing group of songs will be found on DaysDream.
The video for “I Run” was directed by Darren Stokes, the alternative
title for which could be “A Dog’s Life” because although the lyrics can conjure up a
lover returning home from a long recording session or a tour like in “A Hard Day’s Night” it might
also be from the viewpoint of a lost or wandering dog finding its way home.
Here is the rest of the music I've been enjoying (and listening to more than once) over the past year. I hope there's something here that you can get into as well. Next time we'll see start to see what 2024 is going to bring us.
EPs
Peter Hall, About
Last Night
The initial email
for About Last Night from the Subjangle label described the new Peter Hall release
as a mini-album and/or an extended EP. For the purposes of this blog post I’m
going with the latter although it would have been in the top five of my album
list from Part One. About Last Night (Bandcamp) is
another brilliant collection of songs from Hall whose Light The Stars album was
at the top of the list in my 2021 year-end roundup. Each EP or album Hall presents to us is a musical
step forward and we continue to be struck by how the vocals, lyrics, and soaring arrangements come together .
The 3 Clubmen, The
3 Clubmen
The
musical powerhouse trio that is The 3 Clubmen is made up of Andy Partridge, Jen
Olive, and Stu Rowe. Their self-titled EP (Burning Shed) is the kind of
musically inventive and downright fun collection of songs that you just don’t
hear much anymore. The trio made their first appearance when the first single
from the EP, “Aviatrix,” was announced back in the Spring of 2023 (a few weeks later
a glorious pop-art style video was released). In my review of the song I called
it “mind-bending” and this also applies to the
paint-splattering way all of these songs have been put together; there’s
nothing in these songs that’s expected.
Caleb Nichols,
So This Is Crimble
It’s hard to deny Caleb Nichols his Beatle fan credentials. In addition to the very Beatles-influenced Ramon,
he also released the single DoubleMantasy with covers of McCartney’s “Waterfalls” and Lennon’s
“Watching The Wheels.” The centerpiece of the EP (Kill Rock Stars) is “Crimble Medley” in which Nichols creates a wonderful mashup
of a song from a Beatles Christmas fanclub disc as well as holiday offerings
from three solo Beatles along with Ringo's "Photograph" which fits
very nicely in the mix (what's Christmas without photographs?). The EP also
includes his two most recent Christmas songs, “(I Fell In Love On) Christmas
Day” from Ramon (my favorite new Christmas song) and “Christmas, California” from his recent Let’s Look Backalbum.
SINGLES
The Bablers, “Thinking
of You"
“Thinking
Of You” (Big Stir Records), the latest single from The
Bablers, is just the latest knock-out track following “Holding Me Tight
Tonight,” “You Are the One for Me” (my personal favorite), and “Mr. King” which
was released as the commutation (as a certain Mr. Lennon might have said) of
Prince Charles was taking place. With these songs we’ve been treated to four
singles from Like The First Time, an album only available in Japan and
Finland (their home country) and things look good for a world-wide release of the whole thing in
2024.
Fallon Cush,
“Grain of Salt”
“Grain of Salt” (Bandcamp and all streaming
services) is the first new music from Fallon Cush since 2019’s Stranger Things Have
Happened album and the second single from the five-track Tricks EP
which is being released in March 2024. “Grain of Salt” is mostly a solo
effort with Fallon Cush’s main man Steve Smith with an assist from producer
Josh Schuberth. At the beginning of 2020 Smith
suffered a breakdown that left him with crippling anxiety. He stopped working and
barely picked up a guitar.I wasn’t aware of any of this
when I reviewed the song; it didn’t sound anything like an ask for help from
its author, but it certainly sounds like that now.
Confusion Boats, “I Want To
Hold Your Hand”
Brian Dear of Confusion Boats
has been coming up with Beatles and Beatles-related covers for a long time and
the fourth one to be released “I Want To Hold Your Hand” (Bandcamp) is the
best. With the slowed down and soulful vocal of Andrew Lubman, Dear and fellow
Boater Fernando Perdomo lay down the original arrangement for Abbey
Road’s “Oh! Darling” on top. It’s just such a brilliant move that I’m sure
no one saw it coming (I certainly didn't and have been playing it for people
since it came out) and the result is amazing.
LIVE
The Sylvia Platters, Summer Dreamin'
The Sylvia
Platters from Vancouver, British Columbia, is a four-piece consisting of Alex Kerc-Murchison, Stephen Carl O’Shea, Nick Ubels, and Tim
Ubels. In December 2022 the band entered Malibu Sound Studio in Burnaby BC and performed a five-song set. Recorded and mixed by Kyle Schick, the
collection was released in the summer of 2023 as Summer Dreamin' (Bandcamp). The title song is new to the band’s
catalog but the other four tunes are from the albums, singles, and EPs The Sylvia
Platters have released over the past ten years. Their sound is undoubtedly
influenced by Teenage Fanclub and “Norman 4” (a bonus track originally on 2022’s Youth
Without Virtue EP and dedicated to Norman Blake) is a standout on Summer Dreamin’.
COMPILATIONS
Dot Dash, 16 Again
The wonderful Dot
Dash collection, 16 Again (Country Mile Records [sold out]/Last Night From Glasgow: vinyl/
Bandcamp: digital), is the first time these songs have been on vinyl and it’s a
great way to hear them. It’s also a terrific way to introduce new fans to the
band and a way to remind current fans why they liked Dot Dash so much in the
first place. The title 16 Again refers to the fact that these songs (all but one)
have been previously available on all ten of their albums released by Wally
Salem’s The Beautiful Music label between 2011 and 2022. You can think of these songs, hand-picked by the band, as "a greatest hits album by a band with no hits" as the Bandcamp page says. But there's a difference between songs not being hits and songs loved by fans that should have been hits ("Unfair Weather" immediately comes to mind).
Various Artists,
Let The Band Times Roll (a tribute to The Replacements)
Philly’s Creep Records, with their Replacements tribute album Let The Bad Times
Roll (digital available on Bandcamp and the vinyl from Creep Records) have put together a tremendous collection of 13 songs that span the ‘Mats recording career played by a group of bands and singers that I’ve never heard of playing songs I’ve been listening to for 30 or so years.Her Heads On Fire’s “Alex Chilton” and Celebration Summer’s “Left of the Dial” have arrangements close to the original but they just reinforce how great these songs are. The real gems are the ones that feature a different take on these beloved songs. Crazy Tom Martin’s “Sadly Beautiful” is electronically infused and Sammy Kay has an acoustic take and a Tom Waits vocal on “Favorite Things.”
REISSUE
Pernice Brothers, Overcome By Happiness
I know I sound like a broken CD at times (because for a decade or so it was very difficult to buy a vinyl copy of an album in the US) but like 2001's Meaningless by Jon Brion (the vinyl release was in 2022) the Pernice Brothers great 1998 album Overcome By Happiness (New West Records) has finally been made available on a wonderful sounding remastered vinyl. Thanks to an arrangement with New West you can not only get yourself a single vinyl version of the 25th anniversary edition of Overcome but there's also a gorgeous deluxe edition with a second disc of pre-Overcome singles (the single version of "Monkey Suit" featuring both Joe and Bob Pernice is nearly worth the price of the whole thing), album demos, and a hardback book with comments by Joe and as well as lyrics. Another bonus of the coming together of New West and Pernice is the upcoming new solo album Who Will You Believe from Joe Pernice (now available for preorder here).
Another year, another year-end list. Twelve albums are featured in my round-up of favorites from 2023. Once again there are the bands and artists I've enjoyed for a while as well as new faces and voices and two collaborations. I've reviewed many of these albums last year so I've edited them for this post and wrote new text for the entries I either didn't get to in 2023 or missed until recently. Part Two of the Pure Pop blog will include my favorite EPs, singles, a live one, compilations, and a reissue.
For each album I've included a link to where you can buy the music (as well as a song from each album) and, as aways, I encourage you to support indie music by purchasing a download, a CD, or a record.
In 2022, following a
gap of 24 years, The Boo Radleys released Keep On With Falling, an album I
liked a lot. Their new album, Eight, is not only a giant step in the band’s
regeneration, it continues their brilliant sonic journey. It’s also
where the new album fits in Boo Radleys discography and makes it clear there’s
a throughline in the history of a band that before last year had not released
an album since 1998 and where the band is now. Favorite song: “Seeker”
On Reckless
Thoughts Maia Sharp builds on the relationships she’s made with the many
musicians and songwriters she’s known over the years since her debut in 1995.
Sharp’s production on Reckless Thoughts is a low-key affair highlighting each
song’s melody with subtle arrangements that wash over you like a warm bath and
then come back to revisit you. The literate lyrics for each song are polished
to a gem-like finish. Favorite song: “Fallen Angel”
Bill Pritchard – Pritchard Sings Poems by Patrick Woodcock
(Tapete Records)
You may think after having written both words and music for
wonderful songs on 2016’s Mother Town Hall and 2019’s Midland Lullabies that
Bill Pritchard would have little incentive to collaborate with the Canadian
poet Patrick Woodcock. But it turns out this is a genius move. Pritchard has
lost none of his ability to create brilliant melodies and his vocals and simple
arrangements make you stop what you’re doing and listen to Woodcock’s words.
Favorite song: “The Lowering"
Since the 1970s, Martin
Newell, has released music under many monikers including The Stray Trolleys,
The Brotherhood of Lizards, The Cleaners From Venus, and his own name in the
90s when he gave us the wonderful The Greatest Living Englishman and The
Off-White Album. For the last few years Newell has released an album’s worth of
material each year as the one-man band that is The Cleaners From Venus. His latest, K7,
is once again filled with tunes that jangle (he’s known as the Jangling Man) and
lyrics that recall the working-class vignettes of Ray Davies. There’s also the
gorgeous “Postcard to Heaven” about the loss of a friend and “The Beautiful
Stoned” where he cranks up the jangle. Favorite song: “Postcard to Heaven”
I’ve been
a fan of Tony Molina’s work since his great Kill The Lights album in 2018. A
master of short, extremely melodic songs recorded in a very lo-fi DIY way, all
of his labels (In The Store is the fourth since Kill The Lights) release his full-size
records (about 15 minutes of playing time) that are to be played at 45 RPM for
“maximum sound quality.” On In The Store Molina is joined by Sarah Rose Janko
of Dawn Riding who provides a wonderful take on his lyrics. The duo is joined
by Nick Bassett on drums and keyboards (he also supplied the basement in which
the album was recorded) and Jasper Leach on piano and Hammond organ. Favorite
song: “For Today”
Loveless has an
awesome voice that makes it clear it’s not going to take crap from anyone;
she’s also very good on the album’s more emotional turns. Along with her crackerjack
band the results are not unlike Carlene Carter on her 1980 Musical Shapes album
where she matched her twangly vocals with the lads from Rockpile (just check
out “I’m So Cool”). On Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again, Loveless has
songs that alternate between hitting the big time (“Sex and Money”) and leaving
behind a bad relationship (“Toothache”). Favorite song: “Toothache”
Robert Forster – The Candle and the Flame (Tapete Records)
Robert
Forster had three years’ worth of songs he had written for a new album before
his wife and musical partner Karin Baumler was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
While Baumler underwent chemotherapy, Forster set out to quickly record songs
at a local studio in Brisbane. The sessions turned into an extended family
affair with their son Louis taking part along with Adele Pickvance, a long-time
friend and bass player on the last three Go-Betweens albums (and the Adele of
Adele and the Chandeliers). The result is a literate and heartfelt album. Favorite
song: “Tender Years
What do
you get when you put a musical mix of styles in a blender and hit the puree
button? If you’re lucky (and it turns out we definitely are this time) you’ll
end up with The Power Of And the debut solo album from Steve Stoeckel. The
Power Of And alternates between the Rockpile rockabilly of “Laura Lynn” to the
wonderful acoustic treats of “Heather Gray,” “Birds” (a lovely melody as good
as anything on a McCartney album), and “Strange Cameo” with its “I’ll Follow
The Sun” vibe. Favorite song: “Birds”
The music and lyrics of Deleted
Scenes recall the 1970s, a time when young people -- artists, writers, actors,
filmmakers – flocked to New York City. Gramercy Arms fits into the zeitgeist of
the time as it’s a collective led by Dave Derby who was also a member of another
collective of sorts: The Negatives, a band led by Lloyd Cole resulting in 2001’s
The Negatives. Cole, it turns out, is
also part of Gramercy Arms and co-wrote and plays on “Yesterday’s
Girl,” the first single from the album. Having worked with Cole for more than
20 years, Derby has, especially on this song, picked up some of the former’s
vocal mannerisms. Favorite song: “Fucked Up and Beautiful”
On tiny injuries Berk
hits the ground rocking and then opens up to include heart-felt and
heartbreaking ballads and, with the addition of horns, she’s building on her
musical palette. Berk plays the quiet, acoustic card when she needs to and she
and her band know how to bring the loud guitars. Berk has a songwriter’s gift
for collecting the important parts of overheard conversations between lovers
and friends especially the ones that signal the end of relationships. Favorite
song: “sunday driving”
HOOPLA is a cornucopia of musical delights. Written and performed by
the super-talented one-man band Paul Ryan, also known as Trip, he’s been
releasing high-quality tuneage since 2018 (including the amazing hat trick of
three albums of all new material that year). The new album not only continues
his streak of presenting technicolor melodies (the title of his first 2018
album) but the time he’s spent since then, tinkering in his shed, has given his
songs more textures, sounds, and arrangements. Favorite song: “Out of my Head”
On seashells, The New Fools adds trumpet and saxophone to the
mix and the result is a rousing blast of sound. It’s their first “full-length”
album (being more than the eight songs of previous ones) and their best yet. The
band shares duties on creating lyrics and tunes for seashells. For example,
bassist Dave Seabright was asked to write a theme song for the band which could
be used to open shows. The resulting instrumental “Mr. Grimsdale” opens the
album with a burst of sound. It’s both an overture and a statement of intent. Favorite song: “Nice One Pete”
Let’s Look Back (Kill Rock Stars), the new album from poet,
singer, and songwriter Caleb Nichols, continues the backwards looking journey he
began with last year’s Ramon (one of my favorite albums of 2022).
Ramon is a queer love story (he used #queerthebeatles on the
tweeter to promote the album) about a young gay boy growing up in a small town
in the 1990s and finding the music of The Beatles as an escape. There’s also a
rocky love story about Mean Mr. Mustard and Captain Custard although the names
may have been changed to protect the innocent. The album also contained “(I
Fell In Love On) Christmas Day” my new favorite Christmas song.
Following Ramon, Nichols released Chan Says & Other Songs
which consisted of both an EP and a book of poems. He described the songs and
story being at “the intersection of land/sea, sexuality/gender, and fairy
tale/reality” as they tell the story of a young boy born to parents who wanted a girl.
So Let’s Look Back is more like Let’s Look Back Some More. In
stark contrast to the warmth of “(I Fell In Love On) Christmas Day,” the new
album starts off with “Christmas, California” and it’s clear the trip back home
is not one that's looked forward to. The opening guitar riff recalls the music from a
Sergio Leone western (or an overture to a shoot-out at the holiday dinner
table).
“Demon Twink” and “Absolute Boy” are the album's pop highlights. The latter is a jangle-pop
treasure with a sad message at its core: "The time you clipped my wings." “Albatross” rocks out and offers
advice to those who have been hurt in love and not ready to move on yet:
“Everything you lost/Wear it like an albatross.”
“The Wires,” the penultimate song on Let’s Look Back, is my
favorite and the best song on the album. The song starts slow with a strummed
electric guitar and an entreaty to a potential lover: “Hold me tonight/Show
me.” The song slowly builds, an acoustic guitar dominates the bridge, and it ends with a majestic orchestral conclusion.
So This Is Crimble
It’s hard to deny Nichols’ Beatles credentials. In addition to the
very Beatles-influenced Ramon, he also released the single Double Mantasy with
covers of McCartney’s “Waterfalls” and Lennon’s “Watching The Wheels”(and he's made them his own).
The main attraction and centerpiece of the So This Is Crimble EP (Kill Rock Stars) is “Crimble Medley” in which Nichols creates a wonderful mashup of a
song from a Beatles Christmas fanclub disc as well as holiday offerings from three solo Beatles along with Ringo's "Photograph" which fits very nicely in the mix (what's Christmas without photographs?). The EP also includes his two most recent Christmas
songs, “(I Fell In Love On) Christmas Day” from Ramon and “Christmas,
California” from Let’s Look Back.
It seems like right now, with everything happening in the
world, it’s more important than ever to have music that just makes us feel
better when we hear it.
Well, Duglas T Stewart, and the family of musicians that make up
BMX Bandits, have come to the rescue with just what we need. These kings of jaunty
pop have returned with “Setting Sun” (Tapete Records) the first taster for an
album to be released next year.
And it’s also perfect time for this song for other reasons. As
we end the year and it’s cold and gray the thing you need and want the most is
some time in the sun. And “Setting Sun” sets the scene for that as well. So,
pull up the beach chair in the garage and pour a pina colada and turn up the
volume.
The wonderful Dot Dash collection, 16 Again (Country Mile Records), is the first time these songs have been on vinyl and it’s a great way
to hear them (but you really need to visit, or revisit as the case may be, the original CDs to get the whole sonic picture). It’s also a terrific
way to introduce new fans to the band and a way to remind current fans why they
liked Dot Dash so much in the first place.
You can think of these songs, hand-picked by the band, as "a greatest hits album by a band with no hits" as the Bandcamp page says. But there's a difference between songs not being hits and songs loved by fans that should have been hits ("Unfair Weather" is one). The title 16 Again refers to the fact that these songs (all but
one but more on that later) have been previously available on all seven of their albums released by
Wally Salem’s The Beautiful Music label between 2011 and 2022.
Seven of the eight songs on Side One of 16 Again focus on the
band’s two most recent albums Madman in The Rain and Proto Retro. Both of these albums
were recorded with the current Dot Dash lineup of Terry Banks (guitar), Hunter
Bennett (bass), and Danny Ingram (drums) and a have crisper, poppier sound
thanks to producer Geoff Sanoff and both albums are full of bangers. The last track on Side One, “Holly Garland,”
is from 2016’s Searchlights but although it has a slightly different lineup it
fits right in.
Banks, Bennett, and Ingram have been with the band since
2011’s Spark>Flame>Ember>Ash but between that album and 2016’s
Searchlights there were other lead guitarists. But since they left, Banks has expertly handled both all guitar duties and continues to contribute lead vocals.
Banks has the perfect power pop voice and his guitar work is clean and drives
the songs as do the brilliant rhythm section of Bennett and Ingram.
Side Two continues this musical journey with songs from the
other four albums beginning with “Tatters” from 2015’s Earthquakes & Tidal
Waves and ending with “There and Back Again” from their debut release in 2011.
But they’re not done yet: 16 Again ends with Dot Dash’s cover of Television
Personalities’ “Jackanory Stories” which was included on Volume 4 of The
Beautiful Music’s series of tributes to Television Personalities.
We may never get all of Like The First Time, the album The
Bablers only released in Japan and Finland (their home country), although there
have been mentions of an eventual release at a future date. But as of now we’ve
been treated to four singles from the album which put together give one the
impression that when it is released to the rest of the world it will surely be
a very, very big hit.
“Thinking Of You” (Big Stir Records), the new single from The
Bablers, is just the latest knock-out track following “Holding Me Tight Tonight,”
“You Are the One for Me” (my personal favorite), and “Mr. King” which was
released as the commutation (as a certain Mr. Lennon might have said) of Prince
Charles was taking place.
Usually, bands make singles available to generate interest in
a forthcoming album that has yet to see the light of day but The Bablers seem to be doing it in reverse. And I have
no problem with this when what we’re getting bit by bit is this good. Keep
babbling gents!
Steve Smith has been a staple of the Sydney music scene for
over 30 years. With his band Fallon Cush he has released five full albums, the
last being 2019’s Stranger Things Have Happened.
And then things went quiet.
At the beginning of 2020 Smith
suffered a breakdown that left him with crippling anxiety, He stopped working,
becoming increasingly isolated, and barely picked up a guitar.
I wasn’t aware of any of this
when earlier this year I reviewed “Grain of Salt,” the second single from the new Fallon Cush Tricks
EP. It seemed to me the lyrics were an ask for help during a difficult time
from someone who has cried wolf or misled a friend too many times. It didn’t sound
anything like an ask for help from its author, but it certainly sounds like that now.
However, the lyrics for Smith’s
latest single from the new EP, “I’m Trying,” are in the first person: “The
anxiety won’t subside/But I’m trying/To break free.” The sound is a bit more
upbeat than the first two singles with Smith and producer/multi-instrumentalist
Josh Schuberth giving it more of a full band sound; it’s as if the full
strength of Fallon Cush and Steve Smith are right around the corner. It’s certainly
a positive sign for the future.
You can pre-order the Tricks EP and you’ll get three of the five singles (“Hang On To Me,” “Grain Of Sand,”
and “I’m Trying”).
It’s been difficult for me to find albums of songs by my
favorite bands covered by other artists. The I Am Sam soundtrack and the series
of CDs from Mojo Magazine (especially Revolver) did it for me for The Beatles. The
Futureman Records wide-ranging (the digital edition had 50 covers) Garden of Earthly Delights did it for me for XTC.
Now Philly’s Creep Records, with their tribute album Let the
Bad Times Roll (digital available on Bandcamp and the vinyl from Creep Records),
has done it for me with The Replacements.
This collection of 13 songs that span the ‘Mats recording career is
played by a group of bands and singers that I’ve never heard of playing songs I’ve
been listening to for 30 or so years. And I’m really, really liking it!
The versions of Replacements songs on Let the Bad Times Roll run
the gamut. Mikey Erg channels the early ‘Mats
on “Wake Up” and although Goddamnit’s “Can’t Hardly Wait,” Her Heads On Fire’s “Alex
Chilton,” and Celebration Summer’s “Left of the Dial” have arrangements close
to the original they just reinforce how great these songs are. “Unsatisfied” by
Neckscars may be in the same ballpark but from the jangley open on it’s just a
brilliant musical pledge of allegiance to what those four boys from Minneapolis
accomplished. And Low Coast’s gorgeous take on “Here Comes a Regular” shows why
this song should be a standard if it hasn’t become one yet.
But the real gems on Let the Bad Times Roll are the ones that
feature a different take on these beloved songs. Crazy Tom Martin’s “Sadly
Beautiful” is electronically infused and Sammy Kay has an acoustic take and a
Tom Waits vocal on “Favorite Things.”
Although Autumn is only days away, Dolph Chaney’s poptastic
new single, “Cool in the Sunshine” (Big Stir Records), will help us to enjoy Summer
just a little bit longer. It’s the second single before the release of the Chicago-based indie rocker’s
new album MUG (also Big Stir, natch!) out in October. (The single also includes "The Old Ghosts," an exclusive non-album virtual B-side.)
On “Cool in the Sunshine” he’s awe struck in what seems to be
the perfect unrequited summer romance (well not perfect if you've ever been in this guy's shoes). “I’ve set my heart on you” he says to
himself about a girl who knocks him out: “Oh your casual hair flipping/Meets
the smell of fresh grass clipping” (I love this clever couplet!). There’s a breezy vibe to the song and a great Revolver-like guitar solo (you can hear the influence of songs like “And
Your Bird Can Sing” and “Doctor Robert").
Tamar Berk’s new album tiny injuries (Bandcamp) hits the
ground rocking and then opens up to include heart-felt and heartbreaking ballads
and, with the addition of horns, she builds on her already extensive musical palette. Berk
plays the quiet, acoustic card when she needs to and she and her band knows how
to bring the loud guitars.
Berk has a songwriter’s gift for collecting the important
parts of overheard conversations between lovers and friends especially the ones
that signal the end (my favorite line is from the ballad “what’s become
of me, my friend” with its feel of a self-created breakup “be what I want and maybe
I’ll stay”).
Now living in California and having grown up in Chicago, Berk has
written what might otherwise be throwaway lines but instead illustrate how she
also uses her own life and memories in her songs. On “if you know, u know” she sings “and I
haven’t seen snow in over three years” and in “sunday driving” it’s not clear whether
the trip is to or from Chicago but “then you’ll say ‘you’ll be okay 3000 miles
away.’”
Perhaps even more importantly, Berk creates the melodies to
those lyrics that conjure up the feelings her words have. “if you know, u know”
starts with the line “The sun comes up and I’m already down” and the music reflects
the feeling of knowing it’s not going to be a good day. The music of the piano-based
ballad “cash out” has a sense of resignation as things come to an end in a
relationship and there’s anger in both the words and music of “another drop in
the bucket.” And if you’re looking for a positive message from a strong woman
who’s had enough just take a listen to “gonna call it,” Berk’s version of Elton
John’s “I’m Still Standing” (it certainly sounds like he’s playing piano on the
track).
The Pure Pop Phive
Tamar answers the PPP, the questions all the cool kids are
talking about:
How would you describe your music?
I’ve heard indie pop, pop rock, power pop, alt pop.
I don’t know…what do you think?
What/who are your major influences?
Beatles, Classical, Elliot Smith, early Liz
Phair, Lana Del Rey, David Bowie
Do you perform live? Do you have any upcoming gigs?
I do perform live and currently I’m working
on booking some shows, but I am more of a loner and prefer being in my studio
writing and recording rather than playing live…so I really have to push
myself to get out there!
How do you support yourself so you can continue to
make music?
Sell music, sell paintings, freelance VoiceOver
and composing, and using my savings! Yikes!
What’s an album you can’t live without (that's not
one of yours)?
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie
