The Stars Are Out by Sarah Borges & The Broken Singles will be released on March 24th. The band’s previous album Diamonds in the Dark was one of my favorites of 2007, and witnessing their wonderfully raucous Mountain Stage set made me love their music even more. So I was disappointed to read (both on other blogs and the album’s press release) that The Stars Are Out languishes in a restrained “indie-rock” sound. The best thing Borges and her band had going for them was their high energy country-rock quake, and we certainly don’t need another mediocre “indie” band. But after receiving an advance copy of the entire album, I’m happy to say that rumors of Sarah’s “indie” death have been greatly exaggerated.
The opener “Do It Free” is a straight forward rock song that sounds like a Joan Jett cover. The clap happy “Yesterday’s Love” is a catchy country-pop ditty. Tracks like “Me And Your Ghost”, “Better at the End of the Day”, and the rendering of The Lemonheads’ “Ride With Me” aren’t quite as interesting, but there’s a hint of Western twang snaking through the otherwise middle of the road pop-rock melodies. The negative reviews are probably due more to the bland covers of Smokey Robinson’s “Being With You” and Magnetic Fields’ “No One Will Ever Love You”. Neither song is totally bad, but it is far too weak a sound for a band of this caliber.
However, the barnburners “I’ll Show You How” and “Comes To Me Naturally” remind us of just who we’re listening to. These are the kind of loud, infectious Sun Records era songs that made me love this band in the first place. And the atmospheric, string accented finale “Symphony” is a much more successful attempt by Sarah to break out of her country-rock typecasting.
The songs on The Stars Are Out may not always shake with the kind of raw rockabilly thunder of Diamonds in the Dark, but it’s still a fun listen and infinitely better than other bands being touted elsewhere.
Sarah Borges & The Broken Singles – Better at the End of the Day (mp3 expired) *
*mp3 provided by & posted w/ permission of Sugar Hill Records
3 Responses to “Sarah Borges & The Broken Singles: The Stars Are Out”
I wasn’t too taken with her newest single/music video, so I’m cautious about this album’s cock rock direction.
I’m still waiting for her answer to my proposal though
Pierre – Yeah, I was prepared to dislike the album after hearing “”No One Will Ever Love You” and reading lackluster reviews elsewhere. And I think if you liked their last album, you’re bound to be at least partially disappointed by the smoother sound of the new songs. But there’s still plenty to love on the new CD for both old fans and people who haven’t heard the band before. Even the weaker tracks are better than most of the new releases I’ve heard, and there’s still way too much rock and twang to dismiss them as an “indie” band.
muruch – agreed, plenty to love about the new CD and I caution folks from dismissing the entire CD on the basis of 1 or 2 tracks
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