Tamar Berk - ocd

​Tamar Berk

ocd
self-released; 2025

TOP ALBUM

By Matt Jensen

Tamar Berk is back with her new album entitled ocd. The album sounds like the inside of an endlessly looping thought, restless and electric, with fuzzed out guitars, Wurlitzer grooves, trumpet bursts, and synths that circle like taunting voices. It is about anxieties, regrets, memories, the pull of control but also the strange beauty that can come out of being stuck inside them. I could feel both the claustrophobia and the release in equal measure.

I loved how Berk takes that disarray and makes it feel sharp and deliberate. Across twelve songs, she builds a world that shifts between cathartic bursts and hushed reflection. The opener “Stay Close By” grabbed me right away, reminding me of Mitski in its intensity but also its restraint. The guitars are fuzzy and grow more unhinged as the song unfolds, and the hall reverb gave it an extra push. “Ocd” rides a soulful groove, more upbeat, with verses that stretch and snap back with real dynamic energy. It feels like a proper single, catchy and immediate. “You Ruined This City For Me” was another highlight, speeding into power pop and punk territory, complete with handclaps that make it playful even as it barrels forward.

Berk knows when to step back too. “There Are Benefits to Mixed Emotions” slows the pace and then detonates with a loud, explosive hook that floored me. “Time Zone” is pure fun, full of bright production choices and vocal melodies that stick. “Any Given Weeknight” shifts to something more hushed and atmospheric, her voice carrying an airy weight that works beautifully. I loved the builds on “I Had a Dream I Was Lost in an Auditorium,” especially when the horns kick in, and “Indiesleaze 2005” felt like her poppiest moment. “My Turn Will Come” leaned into piano and cello with real gravity, while “I’m in the Day After” brushed against Americana. “Tell Me Why” moved toward folk textures with harmonica, and the closer “Ghost Stories” blended blues and synths into something that felt both weary and cathartic.

As someone who grew up on 90s bands like Pavement and Yo La Tengo, this record hit me in all the right places. The songwriting is tight, the production choices are smart, and Berk’s performance ties everything together with conviction. ocd is one of my favorite albums this year, not just because it is catchy and confident, but because it makes living with chaos sound both exhausting and strangely beautiful.

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