Z Berg

Prior to her solo debut in 2020, Los Angeles vocalist and composer Z Berg had already issued four albums while fronting the Like, JJAMZ, and Phases. The record Get Z to a Nunnery arrived with a more-intimate baroque pop texture and enduring melodies, and its contributors featured Phoebe Bridgers and Blake Mills.

Elizabeth Anne Berg, a native of Los Angeles known professionally as Z Berg, is the daughter of Tony Berg, the former A&R executive and producer at Geffen Records. She first led the Like, a garage rock trio assembled when Z, bassist Charlotte Froom (daughter of producer Mitchell Froom), and drummer Tennessee Thomas (daughter of drummer Pete Thomas) were each 15 or 16 years old. All three had trained on piano before switching to guitar, bass, and drums in turn. After self-releasing three EPs and touring with Maroon 5 and Phantom Planet immediately after high school, the band issued its full-length Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking? on Geffen in 2005. Once Froom departed, the Like cut the girl group-inspired Release Me with producers Mark Ronson, Homer Steinweiss (Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings), and Alex Greenwald (Phantom Planet), who also supplied bass; the album appeared on Downtown Records in 2010. Berg took a part that same year in the short film In Between Days.

During this period Berg co-founded the indie pop outfit JJAMZ alongside Greenwald, Maroon 5’s James Valentine, Rilo Kiley’s Jason Boesel, and Michael Runion. The group released Suicide Pact in 2012, with several tracks placed in episodes of Pretty Little Liars and 90210. After Valentine exited, the remaining members adopted the name Phases, signed with Warner Bros. Records, and delivered For Life in 2015; the single “I’m in Love with My Life” later appeared on Orange Is the New Black and other series.

Berg’s earliest solo tracks emerged across 2018, among them the Christmas-themed “The Bad List” featuring Ryan Ross of Panic! At the Disco. Those songs and additional material formed the album Get Z to a Nunnery, issued on Metropolitan Indian in mid-2020. Ethan Gruska produced the set, which also included Blake Mills, Phoebe Bridgers, and Madison Cunningham.