Tamar Berk’s “stay close by” is quietly devastating alt-pop

TAMAR BERK

SHARES LEAD SINGLE AND MUSIC VIDEO “STAY CLOSE BY”

OUT NOW

NEW ALBUM OCD, OUT SEPTEMBER 5TH

ALBUM RELEASE SHOW: SEPTEMBER 27 AT SCHUBAS TAVERN, CHICAGO

 

 

“Tamar Berk's effortlessly hooky power-pop arrives with as much bright polish as it does effervescent energy.”  - Bandcamp

"With less to prove than aspiring superstars of the teenage dream catcher circuit, Berk allows her maturity to shine in her lyrics"  - CREEM Magazine

“Sweet-spot-bullseye power-pop”  - KCRW

"a maturity seldom heard in today’s pop."  - Shindig! Magazine

August 8th, 2025 - Acclaimed indie power-pop artist Tamar Berk shares “stay close by,” the shimmering and emotionally charged lead single from her upcoming album ocd, out on September 5th on all music platforms. Although it opens the album, “stay close by” was actually the final song Tamar wrote. It was an impulsive, late-night effort to create the perfect introduction that would pull listeners in while hinting at the emotional spirals that lie ahead.

The result is a lush, unexpected mix of distortion, loopy rhythms, and aching vocals that reflect the tension of longing for connection while trying to protect your heart. Berk blends gauzy guitars with a retro, low-end Big Muff fuzz and layered synth textures, creating a sound that feels both melancholy and warm. Lyrically, the song captures that in-between space of dreaming and doing. It lingers in those tender, half-serious plans we make with someone close, like the refrain: “we always say we should get high… and go for a ride.”

PRE-SAVE OCD | STREAM "STAY CLOSE BY"

“I wanted the first track and single to feel a little mysterious, a little off-center,” Tamar says. “Something that sounds familiar but also surprises you and makes you curious about what’s coming next.”

With ocd, Tamar explores themes of anxiety, repetition, and the constant struggle to stay in control of our emotions. It's an album shaped by spirals of thought, fear, and memory. “stay close by” acts as both an invitation and a mission statement, setting the tone for everything that follows.

The official video for “stay close by,” directed by longtime collaborator Brandon Mosquera, is out now. Intimate and vulnerable, it mirrors the song’s quiet emotional pull and offers a visual window into Tamar’s inner world.



ocd, Tamar Berk's fifth solo album, captures her at her most emotionally raw and musically ambitious, exploring the intricacies of identity, anxiety, and self-inventory with fearless honesty. 

From her roots in Cleveland to her rise in Chicago’s vibrant alternative scene of the 1980s and 1990s, Tamar Berk’s musical journey has been shaped by bold reinvention. She emerged as a founding member of bands like Starball and Sweet Heat, releasing music on indie labels such as Thick Records, Minty Fresh, and Kill Rock Stars. Later, she formed the electro-punk duo The Countdown with her husband, and after relocating to Portland, performed in garage and prog-influenced projects including The Pynnacles and Paradise. Now based in San Diego, Tamar has spent the past five years carving out a celebrated solo career. Each of her previous four albums received a nomination for Best Pop Album at the San Diego Music Awards, and her music has continued to evolve with depth and clarity.
 

ocd is the culmination of this evolution. It is not just an album but a full-body map of overthinking, emotional spirals, and obsessive introspection. With fuzzed-out guitars, dreamy synths, rich piano lines, and confessional lyrics, Berk has created her most vulnerable and self-aware work to date. The album builds on themes explored in earlier releases; grief, hope, identity, motherhood, and resilience, but ocd dives further inward, unearthing the chaos and beauty of the mind at its most unfiltered.

“There’s a linear order and a bigger picture to the way my brain works,” says Berk. “It’s the same way I build songs. Every track is like a single word in a much larger sentence.”

The opening track and first single “stay close by” sets the tone with its dreamy atmosphere and emotional inertia. It feels like a long, deep exhale, a gentle plea for connection amid uncertainty. “This song is about a hopeful optimism that hasn’t quite panned out yet,” Tamar explains.

ocd was recorded in Tamar’s home studio and co-produced with drummer Matt Walker (Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage, Filter, Morrissey). Berk played a wide array of instruments including guitar, bass, piano, Wurlitzer, Prophet and Farfisa organs, synth, harmonica, and percussion. The album features performances by longtime collaborators Matt Thomson (Maita), Allen Hunter (Eels), Chris Marsteller, Jonathan Gordon (Suzanne Vega), and Steve Denekas, with additional contributions from Isaiah Mitchell (Earthless), Charlee Berlin, Justin Thorpe, trumpet player Everett Kelly, and cellist Erdis Maxhelaku.

Tamar will mark the release of ocd with a special hometown performance opening for Material Issue at Schubas Tavern in Chicago on September 27th. It is a fitting return to the city where she first found her voice and began a lifelong pursuit of honest, emotionally resonant songwriting. Tickets to the show in Chicago can be purchased HERE.

With ocd, Tamar Berk offers her most deeply personal and sonically ambitious record yet. It is an album about unraveling, understanding, and reclaiming. In every track, she makes sense of the mess and turns it into something unforgettable.
 

 

TAMAR BERK BIO
 

Tamar Berk crafts emotionally raw indie rock and alt-pop that blends fuzzed-out guitars, dreamy textures, and lyrics that linger like a thought you can’t shake. Her songs channel the quiet chaos of overthinking: melancholic, melodic, and wired with an unfiltered honesty. It’s music for when your thoughts are spiraling, the lights are too bright, and you're searching for meaning in the mess.

Raised on classical piano and early Disney soundtracks, she later found creative kinship in The Beatles, David Bowie, Liz Phair, and Elliott Smith. These artists shaped her instinct for melody and emotional truth. Fiercely independent, Berk writes, records, and produces her own music, turning personal unraveling into sonic catharsis.

After years immersed in the scenes of Chicago, Portland, and San Diego, she launched a solo career rooted in a DIY ethos. Her first four albums — The Restless Dreams of Youth, Start at the End, Tiny Injuries, and Good Times for a Change — earned praise from KCRW, CREEM Magazine, Bandcamp, The FADER, SHINDIG, and more, along with nominations from the San Diego Music Awards. She’s collaborated with notable producers and musicians including Matt Walker (Morrissey, Garbage) and Sean O’Keefe (Beach Bunny, Motion City Soundtrack).

ocd, the upcoming fifth solo album from Tamar Berk, will be available across music platforms on September 5th, 2025. It is Tamar Berk's boldest and most immersive yet. It's a reverb-soaked deep dive into looping thoughts, emotional undoing, and the strange beauty of obsession.

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