Sarah Borges - The Stars Are Out

Walking the fine line between rock and country, Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles are a Boston-area quartet influenced by a wide range of artists from Hank Williams to Sid Vicious. I was able to catch the last show of their current tour and man do they put on one hell of a live show. Their fifth time performing in the Springfield area, this felt more like a celebration than a concert. After an introduction by the mayor the Broken Singles played for roughly two hours complete with witty audience banter and some scorching guitar solos in-between some great rockabilly music. Easily one of the best show I've seen in Springfield my metaphorical hat is off the the Broken Singles for their great taste in pop music history.

Sarah Borges (singer/songwriter/guitarist) leads this motley crew of rocking punk-cowboys made up of Lyle Brewer (guitar), Rob Dulaney (drums) and a fellow only refered to as 'Binky' (bass). The Stars Are Out is the Broken Singles second album for Sugar Hill Records following their critically acclaimed 2007 release, Diamonds In The Dark. While the last album could only be described as high energy country, the Broken Singles have veered more toward the indie rock persuasion on this outing. Although this seems to have angered many of their fans I for one love the new direction and can't wait to see where they go next.





Like the first album, The Stars Are Out is almost a 50/50 mix of originals and covers with influences ranging all over the place. The album starts with the great Joan Jett-esque "Do It For Free" pairing scorching guitars with smokey vocals. "I never forget what my mama said to me," Borges' howls, "when it's real love, you do it for free." This song is strait up 60's blues-rock, heavy with the chick-rock vibe of the Runaways. Country-rock is pared with some nice surf-rock riffs for "Me and Your Ghost", a nice track that showcases Borges' range as a singer/writer. Another gem is the dance grooves of "I'll Show You How", a great bar rock piece with some nice harmonica thrown in for good measure.

The later half of the album is made up of some very nice covers, including remakes of Smokey Robinson's "Being With You", NRBQ's "It Comes To Me Naturally" and the Lemonhead's "Ride With Me". I know some people out there might scoff at the word 'cover' but Borges does a great job making the songs truly her own, giving a different take on some classic tunes. In fact unless their really paying attention most listeners will be hard pressed to pick out which tracks are cover and which are the originals. My favorite song on the album is "No One Will Ever Love You", a very well done Magnetic Fields cover. Borges does a good job of holding on to the emotion of the original while adding some of the 'twang' the Broken Singles are known for.

http://www.sarahborges.com/
http://www.myspace.com/borgesrocks

Blitzen Trapper - Black River Killer EP

The release of Furr in 2008 launched Blitzen Trapper into the indie rock spotlight, landing the Oregon-based experimental folk-rock band at the top of many international music charts. They received a two-page feature in Rolling Stone and were ranked #13 on their 'Best Albums of 2008" list as well as being named as supporting acts for Wilco and Fleet Foxes during their UK tour.

In August Blitzen Trapper released the Black River Killer EP, a collection of previously unreleased tracks that up till now fans have only been able to hear in concert or on one of the bands self released CDRs. While the CDRs were cheap and low quality this new EP is professionally recorded so don't let fears of low quality stop you. The EP contains six new songs and of course the title track "Black River Killer", a Johnny Cash-syle murder ballad fans may recognize from 2008s Furr. Despite being on the short side, we're talking 17 minutes of music people, there are still enough well-written songs and cool lyrics to make Black River Killer well worth a listen.

There really are some great songs on this EP, from the distorted harmonica blasts on "Silver Moon" to the finger picking greatness of "Black Rock". Its really hard to pick a favorite track, but I tend to gravitate toward "Going Down", a great piano-driven piece that sounds like something Ringo Starr might have recorded after waking up after a hard night. "It's loose lips sinking ships tonight", lead singer Eric Earley tells the listener, "This girls a cluster of light / Drips I think of lipstick burnt round fingertips". I can't help but compare this song to early Beatles or ELO, Earley's aged voice working perfectly with the guitar almost makes you forget that this is a group of 20-somthing guys from Oregon.



And of course there is the aforementioned title track, Black River Killer, a macabre tale written from the perspective of a murderer after the towns people have discovered his latest victim. "They found a girl's body in an open pit / Her mouth was sewn shut but her eyes were still wide / Gazing through the fog to the other side". The song continues with a great western/gothic tale that charts the killers encounters with the law and his journey seeking redemption. It's a great song that brings back memories of watching old western gunslinger movies with my grandfather when I was young.

Black River Killer is a great collection of songs that show off the full musical gamut Blitzen Trapper is capable of. An interesting blend of folk/country/indie rock with bits of Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, David Bowie and the Beatles sprinkled all over the place. It's easy for any true fan of music to find something they like in the mix. And if you do like what you hear make sure to check out Furr, I can guarantee you wont regret it.

As a bonus here is Wilco and Blitzen Trapper performing "California Stars" in Dublin. Enjoy!

www.blitzentrapper.net/
www.myspace.com/blitzentrapper