Just before the release of her fourth album in four years, Tamar Berk posed the reasonable question, "So in your opinion when is the right time for a 'greatest hits' or a 'retrospective'?" While I think the query was meant largely in jest, one could make the argument that those four albums have puh-lenty to populate a "greatest hits" package. But, honestly, why slow down and celebrate past work when you're on fire right now?
And Berk does remain on fire for the duration of Good Times For A Change, album number 4, out today. Over the last couple years Berk has been on a roll, releasing albums of crunchy rock and tender ballads. Her songs, filtered through her years of experience both living life and slaying onstage, are deliciously satisfying. Her prior work has tended to look backwards, infusing old memories and universal emotions with a rockin' drive tempered by Berk's excellent instincts as an arranger and producer. This is no different, only the memories seem less rooted in the past and more in considering the future.
It's also been an emotionally turbulent stretch for Berk—her prior album tiny injuries dealt with the loss of her father, amongst other things—and while she's always shown a knack for grafting sunshine guitar with sometimes wrenching lyrics delivered powerfully, it appears those darker times have started to fade. The clouds haven't completely parted over Good Times For A Change, but they've grown sparser, allowing more unadulterated joy to bubble forth. I also don't think it's a coincidence that after three albums with titles styled all in lowercase, this new one makes the jump to title case. It's small, but when you're as detail-oriented as Berk, I can't read that as a coincidence.
Good Times For A Change is out today, so give it a spin and/or snag it below. And since it's Bandcamp Friday, if you buy it today, all the proceeds go to the artist. But if you're reading this later, you're still gonna wanna pick this one up, so get to it! Berk will also be in Chicago later this month at Lincoln Hall, opening for Material Issue on September 28. And, as a bonus, her original trio of Starball (largely inactive since the early aughts) will be joining her for a few songs that night, so it's looking to be an amazing show.