The Stars Are Out

Push play and stand back as Boston's Sarah Borges crashes out with her hardest-rocking tune yet to open her third release. Although "Do It for Free" sounds more like a Joan Jett B-side, it's an indication that Borges is slowly gravitating away from the more countrified aspects of her sound and into bolder, brassier pop/rock territory. The five covers (out of ten tracks) on this somewhat short 35-minute disc point toward the singer/songwriter's influences. From Smokey Robinson (a rather rushed "Being with You") to the Lemonheads ("Ride with Me") and NRBQ (a hot rockabilly "It Comes to Me Naturally" that seems more like a Nick Lowe composition in Borges' version) with a stop off at the Magnetic Fields (the slow twangy ballad "No One Will Ever Love You"), it's clear Borges takes her pop/Americana seriously and digs deep for obscure gems. That's particularly true as she uncovers a nifty Any Trouble new wave pop nugget from the late '70s called "Yesterday's Love." The road-hardened Broken Singles band follows her lead from the Pretenders-styled "I'll Show You How" to the '60s-influenced midtempo "Me and Your Ghost," a song that would fit into a scene from Diner. Producer Paul Q. Kolderie, who has worked on all her albums, returns again. It's his nimble touch that keeps the material grounded in Americana even as it morphs from folk to rock and even soul. These tunes are polished and compact enough to garner radio play while staying rooted in the tougher strum that Borges and her band traffic in, especially live. Even the occasional drum machine and string quartet on the beautiful closing ballad, "Symphony," doesn't seem out of place since it's pulled together by Borges' expressive vocals. But it's the hooks from both the covers and the originals that will have you humming along after the first spin and hitting play again after it's over. While a few additional tunes and a longer playing time would have been welcome, this is a short but sweet collection that solidifies Borges' expansive palette while tripling her existing set list.