Sarah Borges – Silver City

Four songs in, Silver City suggests the arrival of a potentially major young roots-rock singer-songwriter. Sarah Borges plays with brash confidence, sings with a sultry sass that falls somewhere between Sam Phillips and Neko Case, and shows a knack for catchy pop tunes with intriguing lyrics. Working with producer Paul Q. Kolderie (early Uncle Tupelo, Buffalo Tom), Borges seems in ideal hands to launch her career.

The opening “All This Weight” shifts back and forth between noirish guitar-tremolo passages and a steady roots-rock beat, smartly establishing Borges’ ability to swing in both dark and bright directions. “Daniel Lee” follows with a fast pace and an immediately memorable chorus.

“Same Old 45”, the disc’s third track, tells the story of the woman left at home by the sailor in Looking Glass’ 1972 #1 smash “Brandy”. That Borges would draw upon such a touchstone speaks to her keen ear for classic melodic hooks; that she turns the song’s perspective on its head speaks to her keen eye for a creative lyrical premise. Best of the bunch is track four, “Mellow Doubt”, a near-perfect roots-pop gem that feels like pure inspiration and instinct.

But that’s as far as Borges gets before Silver City begins to turn straightforward and ordinary. Most of the disc’s remaining eight songs suffer from plodding tempos, run-of-the-mill rhythms, unmemorable melodies and uninteresting lyrics. It feels like an exercise in style over songwriting, whereas the first third of the album is precisely the opposite.

Which probably means this is a case of a talented artist who wasn’t quite ready to make a full album yet. Borges surely has something; she simply needs a little more time to come up with enough of it.