Dana Fuchs is not just one of my favorite singers, she is also part of a fantastic songwriting duo that stubbornly refuses to release the same type of album twice in a row with her guitarist Jon Diamond. And so, after successfully tackling southern soul on the fantastic ‘Love Lives On’ four years ago, Fuchs and her band go full southern rock on ‘Borrowed Time’. Fortunately, the rootsy foundation of the genre provides a perfect vehicle for Fuchs’ gritty alto. ‘Borrowed Time’ has a somewhat looser jam feel than Fuchs’ earlier albums, but also features some of the hardest rocking moments of her career.

Southern rock comes in several flavors. With its greasy grooves, potent rock riffs and memorable melodies, the closest comparison for ‘Borrowed Time’ would be The Black Crowes, albeit with more focused songwriting, fewer country leanings and far better vocals. The initial singles were good, but left me afraid that memorable hooks had been sacrificed in order to facilitate the band’s interaction. Fortunately, ‘Borrowed Time’ has a good balance of songwriting and musicianship. Quite an interesting balance of styles as well. Maybe the album cover carrying the name of its singer served as a reminder that ‘Borrowed Time’ should be about the songs first and foremost.

‘Double Down On Wrong’ is a banger of an opening track. Easily the best opener of 2022 thus far. After a few fairly subtle bars, the best riff of the album erupts. It’s a heavy, yet playful seventies rock riff that segues into a perfectly structured song, which is elevated to a higher level by the subdued anger in Fuchs’ amazing voice. ‘Curtain Close’ is another track that rocks surprisingly hard, though not without its traces of subtlety. Hints of southern soul remain, most notably on the cool Otis Redding-esque groove of ‘Save Me’, but since the styles share influences, it does not sound out of place in the least.

Most of the other tracks alternate between cool rockers with Stonesy grooves (‘Hard Road’, ‘Not Another Second On You’) and rootsy ballads (‘Call My Name’, ‘Lonely Lie’), which Fuchs is equally capable at. ‘Last To Know’ has a particularly pronounced rock groove that feels like Thunder’s ‘Backstreet Symphony’ squeezed through an American filter. It also has a lengthy, wild guitar solo with expert use of wah, not unlike the one closing track ‘Star’ culminates in. Another stand-out song is ‘Blue Ridge Road’, which builds from a swampy southern blues opening to a monumental, Led Zeppelin-esque climax.

‘Borrowed Time’ is another fantastic Dana Fuchs album. Ultimately, I do prefer the tighter songwriting of ‘Love Lives On’ and ‘Bliss Avenue’, but only just. The album’s highlights are among Fuchs’ best recorded material and all the other songs flow together so nicely that the album is over before you know it. The music on ‘Borrowed Time’ has a feel that suggests it would have happened regardless of whether it was recorded or not. That makes the album sound lively and inspired. No one knows what Dana Fuchs’ next step will be, but judging from everything she did in recent years, it will no doubt sound great.

Recommended tracks: ‘Double Down On Wrong’, ‘Curtain Close’, ‘Save Me’