Tamar Berk - "Hoping This Day Won't Kill Us"

Tamar Berk’s creative juices started flowing in 2020 and she hasn’t closed the valve since. After lending her talents to several different projects back in the 90s and aughts, the San Diego-based musician went solo in 2021, releasing her first ever full length The Restless Dreams of Youth. For a debut effort, the results were spectacular, as Berk’s sharp-witted and wise lyrics paired perfectly with her hook-filled, 90s alternative rock musical stylings. Now, barely a year later, Berk is sharing her second record, Start at the End, an album similarly grounded in her solid power pop instincts and brutally honest storytelling. 

“Hoping This Day Won’t Kill Us,” the third track on the album, feels like an emotional bloodletting, as Berk reaches deep within to excise the ghosts of past negative experiences and relationships in order to move forward. It’s a process that’s mentally taxing, and attempting to get your psychological house in order can be both freeing and rewarding. Berk captures the fear and challenge of the proces early on, with her ominous sounding guitar strums soundtracking the inner-confrontation, before piano, harmonies, and a sweet riff kick in for the chorus. She expertly uses several house cleaning metaphors to aptly make her point: “sweep up the leaves, smooth out the sheets, and keep going. Straighten the books, dust off the shelves, and keep going. Tidy the drawers, mop up the floors, and keep going.” 

Stream the track below. 

You can purchase Start at the End on limited edition vinyl via Bandcamp. The album is also available on all streaming platforms. Keep up with Berk by following her on Instagram. 

Berk will be performing at the North Park Street Festival in San Diego on May 21st at 4 p.m.