Changing your signature sound is a risky proposition for any musician, the reaction from which can go two ways. In the recent months we’ve seen both sides. While most are welcoming Karen O’s transition to synth-dance diva, the blogosphere has viciously backlashed against Lil Wayne’s attempt at what he calls “rock music.” Even artists that aren’t as widely known face the same dilemma. It’s what Carolyn Berk is up against with her new Lovers album, I Am The West. She has abandoned her previous roll as traditional singer-songwriter and adopted the use of synthesizers for a more electronica feel. Like other indie artists changing their sound, she faces the possibility of alienating her current fan base and being branded with the cliché label of sellout. Thankfully in this case, Berk has created an album that is as musically invigorating as it is lyrically moving. I Am The West achieves on multiple levels.

Berk has released three previous albums using the Lovers moniker and a revolving door of musicians to back her up. Currently settled in Portland, Berk enlisted producer Suny Lyons to craft the new electronic Lovers on I Am The West. The new direction for the band is instantly felt as the first track “Igloos for Ojoos” opens with a high synth loop and obvious electronic drums. Berk also makes an impressive introduction with her snappy staccato flow that is reminiscent of Suzanne Vega back in the “Tom’s Diner” day. Her cadence perfectly delivers the opening lines, “You wrote it on my arm with a sharpie/ and we fell down Division Street/ took the L through this hell-train city.” The album rides heavy on dance tracks like this one with Berk’s voice stepping from beat to beat.

However the synths can’t hide who Berk is. First and foremost she is a songwriter. Even through the thumping beats and keyboards, it’s her lyrics that grab your ear and carry the album. As expected with the name Lovers, the songs are about relationships as the majority of them deal with the realization that one is coming to an end. On “Let’s Stay Lost,” Berk addresses such revelations directly in lines like “Are all those tears for me?/ Or are some for who I’ll never be?/ At twilight’s fading will you lay here and fade with me?” Further on the album she delivers the gem lyrics “I miss my sweetest friend/ like a house on fire wants its ghosts back again,” on the track “Wrestling Horses.”

As I Am The West progress the synths take a back seat and you find Berk serenading over more subtle guitars on “Imaginary Women” and “Stay Another Night.” Unfortunately after the exciting melodies found earlier on the album, these quieter less-pulsating songs fall flat and seem like a letdown.

I really can’t predict how her fans will respond to Carolyn Berk’s mid-fi to hi-fi transformation. But it’s clearly evident that Berk is a proficient lyricist. Whether it is an acoustic guitar or a drum machine that backs them up, her words will be the reason for anybody putting Lovers in their heavy rotation. Berk has taken that artistic dive without losing the key to her key appeal. In this, proving that change done correctly is a progressive step forward.