Mia Borders, Southern Fried Soul (Independent)

miaborders1Don’t be fooled by Mia Borders’ shy and soft singing style. On “Don’t Say Forever” the soul-jazz singer attacks the words of the song with the fierceness of Fefe Dobson’s hate driven “Unforgiven.” She sings of a lover who abused her trust in this pop-rock anthem of breaking up and rebuilding. Kyle Sclafani’s lead guitar is a bold contrast to her soft musings with great harmonies.

But Borders taps into her sexy side on “Sustenance” and her cheeky side on “Scream,” an in-your-face tune that accusingly prods for answers about why she wasn’t good enough to keep her man and whether or not the other woman’s sex was worth it. “You’ll get what’s comin’ to ya. / I swear I’ll get you back,” she sings with such fury that you wouldn’t want to be the guy that wronged her caught alone one night in a dark alley.

And with emotions as varying as hers are, this CD is full of surprises. There’s no telling what Mia Borders will come up with next, and that’s half the fun.