The Daily Mirror
Jeff Klein
His label mate Jesse Malin has received more attention, but twenty something Texan Jeff's second album Everybody Love's A Winner is a hard-to-classify mini masterpiece. He specialises in gruff-voiced, broken-heart grunge-folk epics and the opportunity to hear him open the emotional floodgates live should entice more than just aficionados of Americana.

Whisperin and Hollerin
'KLEIN, JEFF'
'Leeds, New Roscoe, 4th June 2003'

With the threat of a country gig in mind, I approached the Jeff Klein show with a little trepidation. Despite county music's watering down and occasional entry into the pop charts via Shania Twain et al, you can't help thinking back to the country and western classics narrating sad tales of lost dogs, wives and trailers.

The New Roscoe, Leeds, was host to this country gig of JEFF KLEIN supported by fellow Nashville resident Matthew Ryan and the most definitely un-country and Leeds residents Charly 6.

Austin, Texas and Nashville residents, Jeff Klein and Matthew Ryan maybe, Garth Brooks and Billy Ray Cyrus they most certainly aren't. Having spent a wonderful evening being entertained by all three of the acts, the country link became more and more tenuous as the night went on.

Beginning with MATTHEW RYAN, playing music as simple and basic as it possibly could be, with just a second guitarist alongside, playing a mix of the most incredible melodies from his albums, "Concussion" and "East Autumn Grin". Ryan's set was an easy going start to the night, certainly as far as the music went. Lyrically, it's easy to tell Matthew has a lot going on in his mind, and Matthew's roughly 40 minute performance shared a little of his thoughts and feelings.

Moving from Nashville over to Leeds, with CHARLY 6. Normally playing harder material, Charly 6 came over all acoustic and unplugged for this particular gig. While playing a slightly heavier more punk influenced set, Charly 6 upped the tempo from Matthew Ryan's offering, and was in typical Leeds fashion, a little more vocal between each song with a little anecdote or two to amuse the crowd. Finishing up with the almost anthem like, but most definitely rock'n'roll, "Get Drunk,Screw,Get High", Charly 6 led us nicely into the final performance of the night from Klein.

By this point, it was quite clear to say this was no country gig, and even if it was, I'd be willing to put up with more of this kind of country music. Jeff approached the stage, looking far more rock'n'roll than Id expected him to, and from the start came out all guns blazing, playing songs for the pissed off.Despite the lyrical content, Klein seemed happy enough on stage and the banter going between those at the front and Jeff seemed of good nature. Again, Jeff's set was more up tempo than the opening act, and on many occasions verged on being described as punk. After the gig, Jeff's album, "Everyone Loves a Winner" was cracked open, as a little reminder of a great evening's entertainment, and a surprising one at that.

Contact Music Interview - click here

ContactMusic.com
Jeff Klein – Another Breakdown (released 02.06.03)
The Austin based singer-songwriter has created a debut album, ‘Everyone Loves A Winner’ that he claims is pretty optimistic, but only in the sense that “no matter how bad things are, everything could probably still be worse”.

‘Another Breakdown’ is the first single to be taken from the album, with both releases surprisingly available on the same day (02.06.03). Klein sounds as though he has been smoking glass, with his lacerating vocal evoking the sandpaper larynx of Tom Waits. He shares with Malin, the desire to break away from the traditionally acoustic confines of singer-songwriters, by embellishing the country-tinged tune with some squalling guitar.
The bonus tracks showcase both sides of Klein’s songwriting style, ‘We Were 6 And 9’ is a beautifully simple song, all whispered vocal, pedal steel, and subtle acoustic guitar. Conversely, ‘Ballad Of The Average White Boy Part II’ is Klein’s primal scream therapy after the constraints of gentle country rock.

Touring the UK recently as the support act for Jesse Malin, Klein easily won over audiences with his deadpan wit and emotive songwriting. ‘Another Breakdown’ sets a very high standard for the album to follow, but it would be no surprise if it enabled Klein to find a much larger audience of his own very soon.

Rock City
JEFF KLEIN – Another Breakdown
4 stars

On this instantly memorable single that’s taken from the critically acclaimed album “Everyone loves a Winner,” it sounds as though Klein’s been taking long deep draws on 40 Marlboro a day, ever since his mother gave birth to him 24 years ago. His deep, gravel like voice fits perfectly around the dark and brooding lyrics that he sings from the soul.

It’s rare to hear a song that’s both, charming and dark (there’s real anguish in his voice) yet after repeated listens still manages to offer a sense of triumph. This is the overwhelming feeling offered by Klein. It’s a mature and classy slice of nu-country rock.

Greg Thomas

Whisperin and Hollerin Interview - click here

Americana UK
Jeff Klein and Matthew Ryan - The Little Civic Wolverhampton - 1st June 2003 Review by Patrick Wilkins

Monday night is an odd kind of night for a show - you’ve got to want to be there. Fifty or so people felt the need and found their way through the deserted centre of Wolverhampton to this room above a bar. A smattering of Ryan Adams and Jesse Malin T Shirts among the crowd reflect the fact the Jeff Klein’s last appearances in the UK were opening for label mate Jesse Malin, and Jesse first came to most peoples attention here opening for Ryan Adams. If you figure, for no apparent reason, that this line should continue then tonight’s opener should be of significant interest! Matthew Ryan was the man in question, performing mostly on acoustic with a guitarist sidekick, who was usually on electric. He produced Jeff Klein’s recent excellent record ‘Everybody Loves A Winner’, and actually sounds a lot like Jeff, or maybe that should be the other way round, a tortured sad soul sound with dashes of punk, country and folk. The only problem with Matthew Ryan’s material was that he suffered a little from ‘Aimee Mann Syndrome’ where the songs all have a similar pace and feel, so, at least on first hearing - they blur into one. I was interested enough though to feel that he definitely deserves further listening, the one song that stuck in my mind wandered in and out of ‘Suspicious Minds’ to excellent effect.

After a brief pause, Jeff Klein wandered onto the stage, alone, to the strains of ‘If I only Had A Brain’ (or Heart or whatever its called) from the Wizard of Oz, and began with the album opener ‘Everything is Alright’. The first lines of which sets the tone for the show – ‘This old house is burning down in a blaze of gasoline, you’ve been writing out your suicide notes since you were thirteen’ Some sad and desperate people inhabit his songs, and this is not the only song with images of fire and burning. However that’s not to say the show is a depressing experience - Jeff has enough versatility and humour in his songs, and his personality, to make you feel that there is still some hope through all the shit that life throws at you. The band sauntered onto the stage halfway through the first song to turn things electric, after the acoustic start, thus causing us to downgrade our audience headcount by three! Jeff has a habit of strolling away from the mic and carrying on singing in his sandpaper rasp of a voice, which has a strange effect on the sound - almost as if he’s falling, and falling, struggling to stay in control, it adds to the anxious feel of his writing. Although he sounded great and seemed in good spirits, Jeff looked like shit, vampire pale with jet black hair and goatee. He mentioned the rigours of the thirteen hour flight from Texas, but we were speculating that an experiment with eye make up had gone horribly wrong!

His opening spots for Jesse Malin had been solo and acoustic and both he and the songs seemed much more at home with an electric boost, the up tempo ‘Another Breakdown’ and the scorching ‘California’ benefiting in particular. Occasionally songs wandered into feedback fuelled jams, bass and drums keeping steady, and two guitars thrashing away inhabiting a territory somewhere between Crazy Horse and Joy Division. Jeff clearly enjoyed this element of performing with a band and staggered around the stage bouncing off the bass player and guitarist. He also attempted a little wiggle and shimmy during a Stonsey workout that, it’s fair to say, was not his finest moment of the evening! ‘Five Good Reasons’ seemed to be the crowd favourite, spontaneously turning into an audience participation number, Jeff grinning from ear to ear as the chorus was sung back to him. A couple of new songs had an airing, a number that could almost be called riff driven, entitled ‘Strip’, being particularly memorable, and the encore featured Big Star’s ‘Thirteen’ giving a pointer to one of his major influences. (As an aside, why does everyone always pick ‘Thirteen’? Nobody ever plays ‘Way Out West’ or ‘Sitting In The Back Of A Car’ etc!) He also mentioned stealing a few bars from Nick Drake too. Though there were a few clichéd moments, like the set finishing with the band propping up the instruments on the amps, and walking off stage to the sound of wailing feedback, this was an entertaining and refreshing performance. Catch him in a small venue, while you still can.

Whisperin and Hollerin
'KLEIN, JEFF'
'ANOTHER BREAKDOWN' - 8 stars

JEFF KLEIN'S "Everybody Loves A Winner" is surely one of 2003's most promising debut albums, and while the almost painfully autobiographical "Another Breakdown" - as usual - makes no attempt to shy away from his inner turmoil, it does sensibly couch the angst in a rockier than usual surrounding and pulls off a result with ease.

There are two non-album tracks also included. "We Were Six And Nine" is the more palatable of the two, with a sleepy vocal and some lovely,lilting pedal steel starring, although the closing "Ballad Of The Average White Boy Part 2" (great title) is a whole lot scarier and more challenging by far. Launched by creepy fairground organ and strident riffing, by the time it gets to the desperate "and it's not enough" chorus, Jeff sounds so wracked, his vocal almost turns itself inside out in the process. Despite stiff competition from several tracks on his album, it's still quite possibly his most fraught composition to date.

Choosing Jeff Klein is certainly not the soft option, but one that rewards with repeated plays. "Another Breakdown" is the sound of accessibility at its' most wracked and beautiful.

Manchester Online
JEFF Klein delivers another dose of savage reality with this, his second album of raw and purposeful Americana.

With every syllable uttered containing an ocean of pathos, Klein's wounded howl pollutes this collection of songs with a vital urgency.

Because of this, punch drunk acoustic lullabies such as I'm Sorry Sweet Emily gain an alarming desperation whereas the squalls of feedback that rip open album highlight California recall grunge stalwarts Screaming Trees.

This is a triumphantly bleak record that attempts to push forward the sonic envelope of alt-country while maintaining a healthy dosage of regret and self-loathing.

And in doing so it establishes Klein as a distinctive new voice on the Americana horizon.

Brunel University
Jeff Klein - The Borderline - 3/6/03
Sometimes the most unexpected people can take control of an audience. Wiry, floppy haired and decked out in nothing more dramatic than a plaid shirt, Jeff Klein captivates from the second he opens his mouth.

Whilst Klein's recent 'Everybody Loves A Winner' album is the sound of a man teetering on the edge of drunken, desperate oblivion, on stage the songs become a howling celebration of despair. 'Everything Is Alright' allows Klein to flex his considerable vocal chords for the majority of the song before his band shuffle on behind him to blast anyone standing too close to the speakers back up against the wall; 'I'm Sorry Sweet Emily' is sung with such convincing vocal puppy-dog eyes you forget it's an admittance of wilful betrayal, and 'California' is classic just-me-and-the-dusty-road longing.

With all the miserablism in the air, it would be easy to grow weary and climb up on stage to give the whiney sod a good slap. Luckily for him, Klein has the looks and charm to carry the crowd with him on his tidal wave of melancholia. Flashes of a smile that would leave any boy-band svengali waving contracts, plus a few well placed compliments, ("We've been really looking forward to playing here tonight... We played Manchester last night and everyone there was so damn ugly. We knew you would be better looking"), and Klein has the audience in the palm of his hand.

Broken hearted genius for anyone who needs more than a dashboard confession on their dusty path.

IF E-Zine
Artist: Jeff Klein
Title: Everybody Loves A Winner
Label: One Little Indian
Websites: One Little Indian
Release date: Out now
Rating: +++++

With this follow up to his debut album You'll Never Get To Heaven If You Break My Heart (2000); Jeff Klein is treating us to another selection of seething, powerful alt.country cum indie gems. The 25 year old New Yorker, now based in Texas, has pulled together his diverse influences (from Nick Drake to Dinosaur Jr ) and drafted Nashville born singer/songwriter Matthew Ryan as producer to create Everybody Loves A Winner .

Klein has committed to disk 10 deliciously dark, gruff voiced and downtrodden tales. The tracks are full of longing and despondency, mixing feedback and folk to create a spellbinding collection. From the opening music box notes of Everything Is Alright through the distorted guitars of California to the screaming, disturbing, gothic rock of Steady Wins and the gentle outro Take The Wheel each track is crafted and enthralling. It's a bloody fantastic album, buy it. (BG)

Atomic Duster
Jeff Klein - Everybody Loves A Winner (One Little Indian)
It's been nearly three years since Jeff Klein released his critically acclaimed debut album "You'll Never Get To Heaven If You Break My Heart". The artist believes this is an even better album, and insists "As dark as my music is, it's actually pretty optimistic". I guess he's got his fingers crossed as to what Nick and Tone are going to say then...

N: Looks like Nick Cave, sounds like Nick Cave, I wonder if his middle name is something like Frank, Freddie or Frobisher, now that WOULD be spooky. I bet his luggage is continually returned to New York whether it's lost or not. But as for the guitars, I bet they've not seen a razor in months, balm is just a misspelling of a holiday location.

T: On second thoughts, maybe you should take less drugs. This is quite uplifting actually. I remember when, several years ago, my girlfriend of the time left me, and I filled my spare time of the week or so afterwards listening to Radiohead's "OK Computer" album, and believe it or not, it really cheered me up. I get the impression that "Everybody Loves A Winner" would have much the same effect. So, there you go, take my advice - if you've recently been heartbroken, give this a listen and you'll feel ten times better. Either that or you'll end up sticking your head in the oven anyway.

N: I bet that guy was one of the underachieving geniuses at school. He sounds to me just like a male Lisa Germano - his vocal phrasing, his tempo - he's cool.

T: Hmm..a male Lisa Germano, now there's an interesting notion. 9/10

Vanguard Online
Jeff Klein
Everybody Loves a Winner
ONE LITTLE INDIAN

Well, this is one sparkly little gem and no mistake.

Mr Klein has produced one of the most entertaining LPs in the Americana genre. I'll admit that has become a lazy and all encompassing word for American music influenced by folk or country, however Klein remains difficult to pigeon-hole - and rightly so. Jeff is based in Austin, Texas and his music is tinged with desert sand. He sings with the power and control that any rock or country singer would be jealous of. Songs like 'Keep it like a Secret' and 'I'm Sorry Sweet Emily' speak of a longing and vastness that more successful performers like Ryan Adams and Jesse Malin often seem unable to quite reach.

He uses a classic acoustic guitar style one minute, a feedback grunge soaked power chord the next. In fact his voice is reminiscent of Screaming Trees' vocalist Mark Lanegan (who now helps out Queens of the Stone Age). Perhaps Klein is actually making grunge-country?

Whatever, this is the pick of the alt-country, or Americana, or whatever the genre Klein fits best into, so far this year. Sure, we've got a fair way to go in 2003, but I reckon 'Everybody Loves a Winner' will be in my best of the year chart come December - it really does speak to me that much.

Klein is almost too personal. His voice drips with sincerity. He wrings every last drop of pain out of his gravel soaked throat. Every time I listen I'm sucked into his world. I'm still surprised at how much I love this album.

Paul Baker

Click here for Mojo's March review and feature

Whisperin and Hollerin
(ONE LITTLE INDIAN)
(9/10)

Mention the name Ryan in Alt.Country circles and inevitably ears prick up at the hint of what the genre's golden boy, Ryan Adams is involved in now. However, for Austin-based singer/ songwriter JEFF KLEIN, it's another Ryan - producer and kindred spirit Matthew Ryan - who's helped him shape a pretty bloody terrific (second) album in "Everybody Loves A Winner".

Klein insists "ELAW" is successful because Ryan introduced an atmosphere where "no idea was a silly idea" at the sessions and "there are a lot of cool sounds on this record that just came out of us fucking around."

Well, amen to the God of fucking around, then, because this apparently loose process has glued together an album that shivers with emotional goose pimples and sets Jeff Klein up as another distinctive talent in a genre already teeming with mavericks jostling for space.

One things needs to be established quickly, though: you'll have noticed "ELAW" is on the One Little Indian label and that Klein has recently toured extensively with labelmate Jesse Malin. Well, put simply, DO NOT expect another "Fine Art Of Self-Destruction". Indeed, "Everybody Loves A Winner" is another pool of circling sharks altogether.

A few seconds of opening track "Everything Is Alright" make this abundantly clear. Over a deceptively simple, Christmas-sy paino loop, Klein's sleepy, defeated vocals ("You've been writing out your suicide note since you were 13") immediately set him apart, though this writer can detect a hint of Chris Mills at his most wracked.

"ELAW" packs a heavyweight emotional punch at all times. It can rock in an overheated, exasperated kinda way, like on "California", where Klein makes reaching the Golden State sound more like grasping for the jaws of Hell rather than relaxing in Utopia; or "Another Breakdown", where the strident guitars and background harmonies couch a frightening lyric where Klein sings: "I wish they'd come and put me away." But these brash musical interludes are merely mirages in a desert of absolute personal disarray.

A major plus point is that Klein and Ryan remember to ally great, haunting tunes with Klein's almost wincingly painful observations. Both "Five Good Reasons" and - especially - "Keep It (Like A Secret)" revel in their semi-acoustic (nearly) pop surroundings, and are further buoyed up by Patti Griffin's breathy backing vocals.

Klein truly excels, however, when he slows it right down and seriously turns the screw. Indeed, most of "ELAW"S second half is slow, scarily contemplative and framed by acoustic picking. Here, Klein's songs draw comparisons with, say, Mark Eitzel and (especially) Mark Kozelek. Sometimes, the pretty(ish) musical motifs sweeten the pill as on the closing "Take The Wheel", but songs like the numb lilt of "Goodbye" and the remorelessly sad "Steady Wins" - which is more than a little Kozelekian in its' dissecton of a relationship breakdown - add a whole new dimension to terms like 'funereal.'

Thanks to the likes of predominantly unsung mavericks like Townes Van Zandt, Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, the Lone Star state has always promoted grittily affecting performers, but in Jeff Klein they can welcome a new breed of Texan troubadour. A curious and sometimes uneasy melange of provocative melodies allied to grimly tangible lyrics it may be, but "Everybody Loves A Winner" nonetheless adds up to a superb album. Those of you with the stomach for it will soon develop a morbid fascination.

Leedsmusicscene
(ONE LITTLE INDIAN)
(4 stars)

After around Europe with One Little Indian label mate Jesse Malin, this is Jeff Klein's first UK release. The 25 year old is now a resident of Austin, Texas after relocating from New York. His landlady even makes an appearance on the album performing backing vocals.

Luckily the landlady just happens to be a certain Patty Griffin and her sweet, tender vocals contrast kindly with Klein's gruff, coarse growl. He controls that growl well though, knowing when to hold it back as more a gruff whisper and then let it unfold upon the melody. At times he sounds like Jeff Tweedy and musically some of the songs often give a nod in the direction of Wilco with some less conventional guitar sounds emanating from the amplifiers; gentle melodies with a darker edge.

Opener "Everything Is Alright" sets pretty much the standard tone for the album, it's gentle toy piano hinting of the delicacy of the songs to come. "Keep It (Like A Secret) is a beautiful ballad with a gorgeous Fender Rhodes melody that lilts in and out between the guitars. Griffin's vocals again raise the standard, harmonising with Klein; "careful what you wish for baby, it just might come true".

"Another Breakdown" lifts the tempo, a foot tapping rocker with an influenza like guitar hook that refuses to vacate your ears. Klein's lyrics are mostly downbeat, yet are delivered with an optimism that prevent him from becoming just another melancholy troubadour; "empty hearts and empty houses fill my cup, the best of beggars can't be choosers so drink it up, because I just drink it up". The change of pace comes just at the right time, the distorted guitars and driving beat pushing the album forward.

Less chirpy is "Steady Wins" with it's repeated guitar motif and slow building wall of sound combining with the unsettling lyrics telling of a marriage gone sour "do I have to take you outside and show you what a real man is?". It's the kind of song that takes a few listens to appreciate it's full depth both musically and lyrically.

The album is at it's strongest halfway through with "Five Good Reasons" almost guaranteed to get you laid if you play this for the one you love. Not that it's a love sonnet, just that it's melody is one of tremendous beauty and fragility. It's a song to listen to as you dwell on all that is wrong in your life, the chorus a clever piece of lyricism with a clever last line that has you reciting it back it's meaning dawns on you. Whilst there's pain within the lyrics; "I don't understand how someone as close to you as me could be the pit of all your hate and all your greed", there's a sense of hope and brighter way forward within the music, the pedal steel creating a soft ambience along with the whispered second vocal part.

Classic Americana lyricism twinned with gentle, brooding and atmospheric backing make this a fine debut, with Klein arriving just as there's a resurgence of popularity for the singer/songwriter. "Everybody loves a winner but when you lose alone". Well for now I don't think Klein will be short of company.

click for Takeoutmusic.com interview

Uncut - March 2003
click here to see the UNCUT FEATURE

Takeoutmusic.com
(ONE LITTLE INDIAN)
(5 stars)
This is the second album from Austin based alt - country indie rocker Jeff Klein. The album is a beautiful, tragic, fragile composition of raw musical and lyrical talent. Some of the more delicate moments captured on this album are the tear provoking and emotion filled 'Holding In The World' and 'Take The Wheel'. Throughout this album the lyrics are very personalised and you get the feeling that Jeff really has put himself on the line here. It is as if he is taking you on a personal journey. He really is a bright star in what is currently a very dull, repetitive and manufactured music industry. People like this don`t appear every day. It`s the kind of album that you will still be listening to in years to come, it will become like an old friend, a classic which has a timeless feel to it, like the music of Jeff Buckley, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. This record is about as far away from disposable as you can get. Jeff`s distinctive raspy voice gives this album a unique and unforgettable sound. There are a couple of distorted guitar rock tracks ('California' and 'Another Breakdown') which helps to give the album even more depth and variety but lyrically still as moving as the slower songs.

Ri Ra Magazine
EVERYBODY LOVES A WINNER
(ONE LITTLE INDIAN)
The inside cover carries the subtitle But When You Lose, You Lose Alone and that says is all. Jeff Klein's currency of choice is dark ballads wrapped in layers of despair and disappointment. He's not on very happy pills.

Opening with the stark, spare and completely desperate Everything Is Alright - it sounds like a simple loop on a Casio. Isn't there something comforting in the morose? Melancholy never sounded so good.

Backing vocals on a number of tracks come courtesy of Patty Griffin - an artist you must check out. Some sentiments expressed here would permanently wipe the smirk off Leonard Cohen's face. And then to counteract that he serves up a subtle melodic gem - Keep It (Like A Secret) - that produces a smile and induces a hum.

The most upbeat rock out track is called Another Breakdown. (Answers on a postcard please - no prizes though). When you're in the gutter you look up at the stars - who said that? The more I listen, the more I hear Mark Everett from Eels - circa Electo Shock Blues - depressing, gut-wrenching but human and hopeful.

The London Times
EVERYBODY LOVES A WINNER
(ONE LITTLE INDIAN)
(4 stars)
From the same label that brought us Jesse Malin's The Fine Art Of Self Destruction comes an equally dark and compelling debut from Jeff Klein. Originally from New York but now relocated to Texas, Klein's muse lies suspended somewhere between country and city. One minute he is rocking hypnotically on Another Breakdown, the next he is languid and enervated on the acoustic Holding The World. There is anger and desperation behind every track, but Klein's bursts of optimism lift it out of melancholic introspection. The first great album of the year has arrived in record time.

Uncut - February 2003
EVERYBODY LOVES A WINNER
(ONE LITTLE INDIAN)
(4 stars)

Following in the wake of labelmate Jesse Malin's success, Austin-via-New York twenty-something Jeff Klein's take on warped American mores pitches up in a much darker backwater. Opener 'Everything Is Alright' is as menacing a stall-setter as imaginable, a bleak suicidal arsonist's tale built around a grisly-lullaby keyboard loop and guest (and Klein landlady!) Patti Griffin's smouldering back-ups. 'If I Get To California' rocks like early Uncle Tupelo; 'Another Breakdown' a huskier Ryan Adams; 'Keep It (Like A Secret)' rumbles a la Jay Farrar. Klein's ace-in-the-hole is a careworn, lugubrious delivery and songwriting suss (he briefly attended Boston's Berklee School of Music) that proves 2000's acclaimed You'll Never Get To Heaven If You Break My Heart was no accident. Beautiful, frayed, desperate stuff.

Mojo - February 2003
EVERYBODY LOVES A WINNER
(ONE LITTLE INDIAN)
Recommended Release

Rock-City.Co.Uk
EVERYBODY LOVES A WINNER
(ONE LITTLE INDIAN)
(4 stars)
n Jeff Klein’s own words this album is about “Waking up at 25 years old and realizing your arms may be a few inches short to reach the brass ring and that Cinderella may be fiction.”

As the record started, I instantly felt as though I was listening to a dark and twisted, child’s nursery rhyme. It certainly reminded me in part of ‘The Eels” and the bleak lyrics furthered that thought, “this old house is burning down in a blaze of gasoline and you’ve been writing suicide notes since you were thirteen….”

It all sounds pretty heavy going, but it isn’t. Klein’s songs are certainly dark and brooding, and there’s an element of self-loathing but you can’t help being drawn into the record by the unflinching honesty. The album steers a tricky path, at times it sounds sinister and at other times intimate, but it remains poignant throughout, almost as if art is reflecting life. The delicate delivery on “Goodbye” is particularly noteworthy.

The record projects Klein as an irresistible loner, the brooding ‘James Dean’ type, whiskey bottle in one hand, cigarette on the go in the other. Anybody that’s a fan of lo-fi luminary Ryan Adams, will be right at home with Klein’s music, so with that in mind it seems apt that he is currently touring with Adam’s protégée Jesse Malin.

The title “Everyone Loves a Winner” is cryptic, and sarcastic, and if you examine the sleeve notes you see the completion of the title, “but when you lose you lose alone”. Misery sells, just ask Morrisey or Thom Yorke, and clearly releasing a record is a damn sight cheaper than therapy!

Greg Thomas

NetRythms.co.uk
EVERYBODY LOVES A WINNER
(ONE LITTLE INDIAN)
th such "rainy-day music" names as American Music Club, Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen and the Red House Painters among his influences, it's no surprise to find the Austin based New Yorker a similarly lugubrious soul, his album (with the exception of the noisy swaggerer Another Breakdown) a low key affair of brushed percussion, careworn woodsmoked vocals, and variously sad or gnarly guitars traced across songs steeped in a desperation, anger, cynicism and weariness that belie his youthful years and looks.

The follow up to 2000's acclaimed debut You'll Never Get To Heaven If You Break My Heart, the tone's set from the get go with the ironically titled Everything Is Alright, a song about a suicide arsonist that, from an opening line and phrasing that evokes Dimming Of The Dat, suggests Richard Thompson might be in the collection too. Built around a loop from a mini-keyboard, it's one of several numbers to feature duet or back-ups from Patty Griffin who, aside from being a fan, also rents him the back half of her home. She's there again on California, another burned soul adrift number, though this time owing a considerable debt to Neil Young's grungier desert night moments.

Breakdowns, self-loathing, nails through the heart, regret, tortured relationships ("I don't understand how someone close to you as me could be the pit of all your hate" he chokes on Five Good Reasons) inform his dark lullabies, lines like "you wash my smell off you in the sink" (Steady Wins) and "I hope that you were proud to be the one that took so much shit from me" (Holding In The World) suggesting that when he's not getting involved with women who treat him like a punch bag he doing the same to the ones who don't. Certainly I'm Sorry Sweet Emily where the singer confesses his inability to resist the "swayin of their hips" under "barlit skies" while the woman he loves waits at home reveal the same streak of fear that permeates Charles Bukowski's tales of self-destructive romantics.

Of course, this may be all a storyteller's front, but you get the feeling that the day Klein finds a happiness he's not compelled to destroy or be destroyed by is the day he'll hang up his songbook.

Insite Magazine Interview
"Tonight it¹s not about kicking ass, it¹s about stroking ass gently." This is just one of the many humorous lines Austin singer/songwriter Jeff Klein typically utters at the start of a show not just as a joke, but to prepare the audience that what they are about to see and hear is more about smart lyrics and real emotion than just stomping feet to a generic rock show. At age 25, Klein has been writing songs and playing shows for almost half his life, first in the Northeast and now in Austin for the last three years. His first full release- You¹ll Never Get To Heaven If You Break My Heart- garnered critical raves for its musicianship, wit, and shocking honesty and has helped him earn the respect of many Austin musicians and publications.

Like other artists, Klein is definitely not content with the state of the music industry or the rest of the world for that matter, but tries to hold out hope that things will get better. "Everyone's medicated these days- Four out of five people I know are in therapy, three out of those four are on medication because everyone is ready to give prescriptions to make everybody happy. That¹s kind of sad. Hopefully people will start looking for things that matter, things that have substance in them, instead of just kind of accepting what¹s given to them." Chatting with him at a bar and coffee shop in Hyde Park (where every other musician in Austin seems to live), I got a chance to see where the gritty "edge" in his music comes from and the challenges a young singer/songwriter faces in today¹s music world.

You're from New York originally What brought you to Austin?

I had two friends that lived down here and they offered to manage me and help me out with things. I visited here once, liked it, and moved here- real spur-of-the-moment. They actually moved away a month or two later, the management thing didn¹t really work out. Me and my best friend and my girlfriend at the time moved down here, and both of them left within a couple months- they¹re New Yorkers and didn¹t really like Texas. I stayed, though, so I was stuck down here by myself not knowing anybody--not one person. I think it was good for me, though, helped my writing a lot because you¹re forced to find yourself as a person when you don¹t have your "anchors" around you.You find who you¹re supposed to be in a sense.

How did you get involved in music and writing songs?

I begged my parents like crazy for a guitar when I was 11 years old and just started writing songs, I wasn¹t really good at anything else. I used to steal my brother¹s records and was kind of the "obnoxious theater kid" when I was little, singing in musicals and stuff. I started playing my first shows at 14, playing mainly in bars. My brothers were really good at sports and I wasn¹t good at anything except listening to music, so I just started playing it. Started off in horrible, horrible bands. Never did cover stuff though, it was always original horrible, but original! (laughs) Being 14 and singing about relationships even though I¹d never been in one before singing about getting wasted, even though I hadn¹t really gotten wasted It¹s funny, I guess I was prepping! (laughs)

Tell me about the label that put out your last recordŠŠIndia Records.

India Records is awesome, it¹s all artist-run with no money (laughs), but everyone works hard and is really cool. It started as me, Will Sexton, Dewato, and Mark Addison. We were all making records at the same time and figured we might as well put them out together.All being under one name is somewhat easier than all being under separate little self-labels. We started getting some decent recognition, and other bands started joining like Goudie, God Drives a Galaxy, Lowery 66, Michael Fracasso. What¹s great is you have complete control over your image and what you want to do, you don¹t have to answer to anyone about anything..You just make your art and put it out. A lot of the people on it have been in major labels, so it¹s kind of a cool alternative to have this freedomŠ

When does Everyone Loves a Winner come out and how is it different than your previous work?

It will come out someday. (laughs) There¹s a lot of different things going on with it as far as releasing it. I think it¹s a lot different. Matthew Ryan, who I had done shows with before, produced it and let me just go with my own ideas on everything. Sonically, it¹s even mellower than the last one if that¹s possible (How slow can I get?!), but it also gets really noisy in parts. I consider this my first record really, it¹s exactly who I am, and I can say that having been done with it for awhile. At the very least it¹s a great starting point. So many great people play on it as well, such as Patty Griffin, Johnny Goudie, JJ Johnson, Matthew Ryan and Jon Dee Graham. It¹s a very moody piece that makes sense from beginning to end.

Haven't a couple of your songs been on national TV shows?

Yeah, and it¹s helped pay the bills a lot! Most of the shows aren¹t even on anymore such as shows on the WB like Young Americans and Wasteland also on Dawson¹s Creek. I still get money from reruns once in awhile. It¹s nice to open up the mailbox once in awhile and get a nice check, mailbox money is great.

What would you say the overall theme of your music is?

That¹s a great question, I don¹t know, everything I write is very personal, so it¹s kind of like a diary. I think it¹s an honest dialogue from someone my age, I¹m 25, growing up in an era where most people are kind of unhappy with everything around them and themselves to an extent and not just keeping quiet about it. I may be trying to make some sense of it within myself by singing about it, though it never really happens, but the intention is good! (laughs) I guess it¹s somewhat dark and angry, but in a weird kind of optimistic way. It¹s not like I have this list of complaints and am just sounding off, I think a lot of my music has to do with coming to terms with these things, kind of like standing up in an AA meeting and saying "Hi, my name¹s Jeff, I¹m an alcoholic" and then going on from there. As depressing as some of that stuff is, I¹m really not that depressed of a guy. I¹m a huge smartass! It¹s just my way to vent I guessŠ

Are all your songs based on your experiences?

Yeah, all of them are. Sometimes I change the names to protect the innocent, sometimes I don¹t. In fact, the writing on the cover of my last record was actually the letter my girlfriend left me when she moved back to New York from here. So I was like "Alright, I¹m putting the letter on the cover artwork!" (laughs)

Who are your main influences?

There¹s so many. First and foremost I¹m a fan of music, all I do is listen to music all day long it seems like I listen to it way more than I play it, that¹s for sure. Of the people I don¹t know personally, I¹d say people like Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, The Clash, Red House Painters, American Music Club, Richard Buckner. Right now my favorite band is Pedro the Lion, this band from Seattle, he¹s just an amazing songwriter. As far as people that I know that have helped me, Patty Griffin and Matthew Ryan are both really great musicians that have always been willing to help Jon Dee Graham, Evan Dando, John Wesley Harding. They¹ve always been super nice to me.

Your songs are seething with emotion and you don't seem to have a problem with reproducing that emotion onstageŠ.

Yeah, I just kind of slit my wrists and go for the gold! (laughs) I¹ve always been into extremism, never been into bands that when you see them they just recreate the album. I¹d rather it be more unique. I¹m about 100% honesty in what you¹re doing, and I think people usually appreciate that. It makes them want to come back and see it againŠ.

What venues in Austin seem to best suit you?

I don¹t think any! (laughs) Nah, I don¹t know, I¹m not alt-country enough for Continental Club, I¹m not punk enough to play at Emo¹s even though everything I go see is usually at Emo¹s. Stubb¹s (inside) has been really good for me. Cactus and Flipnotics are both great for solo shows because they are so intimate and force you to be really on.

What's next for you?

Next is deciding on a home for the new record. I¹m going to New York in a few weeks and doing a bunch of showcases there. Hopefully just touring my ass off!

Is it a good time to be a singer/songwriter in today's music industry?

I don¹t think any time is! Singer/songwriter is like the bastard child of the music industry. People say those two words while covering their mouths, then look awayŠ I¹ve never really wanted to be the folk guy with just the acoustic guitar singing my songs whining that people aren¹t listening. I¹ve always loved bands, been into loud, obnoxious punk and rock bands. I always just did my own thing, though and didn¹t really want to be in a band where other people had a say in what¹s going on- I didn¹t want to group-write. So I did the singer/songwriter thing, but I think people sometimes look down on that word. You do hear some of it on the radio these days, but any of the popular ones don¹t seem very honest to me, they seem a little too pre-planned and insincere.But I hear the male singer/songwriter is coming back, that¹s what the kids tell me! (laughs) It always goes in circles I guess.

What's the biggest challenge in "making it" for you?

My looks, my attitude, my songs, and my (laughs). I don¹t know, I don¹t know if people are ready to listen to stuff that isn¹t "fun". It doesn¹t have to be a good time, I think happy songs are kind of annoying, I don¹t listen to a lot of them. My stubbornness- I¹ve had a lot of A&R people come to shows and say something like "Hey, this guy can be like an Edwin McCain, playing at like the Peach Pit on 90210. Let¹s "Pete Yorn¹ him!" (laughs) I grew up on underground, indie, punk rock and though I¹m a folky person, I think that whole ethic is still there. You gotta do what you do until it breaks through. I think if I changed it drastically it wouldn¹t be honest, and I don¹t know how I could write songs if it didn¹t come from a real place.

Austin Chronicle
You'll Never Get to Heaven If You Break My Heart (India)
Originally from New York, Jeff Klein has been quietly honing his craft in Austin for three years. You'll Never Get to Heaven If You Break My Heart may be his second release, but it sounds like the work of a grizzled veteran. It's a winning set that alternates between dark and light with remarkable finesse, with a variety of moods that flow naturally and always keep it interesting. Klein's vocals at times recall the rasp of Jon Dee Graham, other times the brooding of Son Volt's Jay Farrar. Some atmospheric pieces possess a rustic charm, like "Blown Away," "Song From the Tin Man," and "Black and Blue," while also making room for the massive roar of tunes like "Break in Two" and "Ballad of Big Red." Klein treads on deep emotional territory throughout. Songs like "Lower Down," "Black and Blue," and "Without You" bristle with electricity despite mainly acoustic settings. The rich and varied backdrops are provided by the strong production work of Mark Addison and some of Austin's best players, including Mike Hardwick, Scott Garber, and Nina Singh. The focus, however, is always on Klein, who shows unexpected capacity for writing haunting melodies and startling lyrics that are at times sarcastic, yet always intense and heartfelt. Klein may be a relative newcomer to Austin, but You'll Never Get to Heaven If You Break My Heart shows he's already one of the better singer-songwriters in town.

Austin Chronicle
Jeff Klein is a young man with a serious dark side. He's only 24, but he doesn't have that freshly scrubbed look. He's got a wisp of a beard on his chin, and his black hair hangs in his eyes. That's unfortunate, because his eyes may be his most distinguished features. Barely glimmering, they're apropos to a songwriter with such a dark world-view. They only light up when the talk turns to his favorite songwriters, most of whom are as disheartened as he is.
To many, Klein is a newcomer to the Austin music scene who just released his powerful local debut, You'll Never Get to Heaven if You Break My Heart, on local indie label India Records. And yet, he's been living in Austin for three years now, and has appeared at such venues as the Cactus Cafe, Ruta Maya Coffeehouse, Flipnotics, and even opened shows for Bob Schneider at Antone's, when Lonelyland was a band.
That people are just discovering him here in Texas doesn't surprise him, naturally -- that's the nature of the music business -- but he claims to be better known in places like L.A., Chicago, and New York. In Austin, he's known and appreciated by some local musicians of note (Jon Dee Graham and Ian Moore are big supporters), and in the larger scheme of things, that means a great deal to someone on their way up.
Klein began that journey in Newburgh, New York, where he grew up, on the Hudson River halfway between New York City and Albany. He began gigging in local clubs around the area by the time he was 14, playing open mike nights and such. He then moved to Boston to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music, but only lasted a year.
"It wasn't my scene at all," he remembers, "because it was like trained musicians playing fast, hot guitar licks, and I was the guy who liked to write songs. I took a class with Livingston Taylor on songwriting that seemed kind of silly to me. I got a lot of good experience when I was in Boston. I did some shows with Evan Dando. I played a lot.
"After a year, though, it was so expensive to live there, and I wasn't into paying $25,000 a year to go to college. After four years of that, to be $100,000 in debt and to be a musician who has to pay it back was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard of."
So he moved back home and finished school at New Paltz State, just up the road from Newburgh. He continued to gain good performing experience while there, and even moved into the New York City scene, playing places like the Bitter End, Bottom Line, and the Mercury Lounge. He developed quite a following, and managed to sell 3,000 copies of his first CD, 1998's self-released Put Your Weight On It.
He claims not to like that album these days, saying it was made under the influence of a couple of friends who were acting as his managers at the time. The backing musicianship is a little too jazzy for his tastes. Nevertheless, his buddies moved to Austin that year and convinced Klein to come down and check it out. "I moved to Austin because I was tired of that whole scene and I didn't want to live in New York City," he explains. "There's no money playing there, and the scene was really rough.
"So I came down, liked it, and moved down here on a whim. Things started going really well when I got down here, but it got to the point that I was managing [my two friends], because they couldn't really handle what I was going through.
"It's funny that they don't live here anymore while I still do. When I first moved here, it was with my longtime girlfriend and my best friend, and within three months, they didn't like it here and left. And the friends that I had come down here for moved away a couple of months after that, so here I was stuck alone and not knowing anybody and just playing music. I think that was good for me."
As has been chronicled many times in the past, the musicians of Austin have always been accepting and nurturing to newcomers with talent and so it was with Klein. He got onstage a couple of times with Jon Dee Graham, who always plugged Klein's upcoming shows. He opened a couple of shows for Moore, and that opened more doors for him as well. Moore's backup band at the time was Mark Addison and Nina Singh, who are the prime movers behind India Records; the former also produced You'll Never Get to Heaven. Moore's manager Jan Mirkin played a crucial role in Klein's rise as well, bringing him to the attention of song publisher ASCAP, which invited him to play at their 1999 South by Southwest showcase, and wound up endorsing the young songwriter as one of their top unsigned new artists.
ASCAP was also instrumental in Klein getting his music played on television. His songs have appeared on such shows as Young Americans, Wasteland, and Dawson's Creek, and the royalties from those, which can be substantial, have kept him from needing a day job. Along the way, he's had interest from major labels -- landed a couple of demo deals -- yet no one has offered him a recording contract.
"I had a couple things going last year," he says, "but there's this skeptical enthusiasm over the whole singer-songwriter thing. In the past two years, I've been in the office of the top A&R guy for every major label. They've either given me money for some demos or I get, 'You're not a heavy metal band with a DJ. You're not wearing a mask or make-up and shaking your ass onstage.' "It's weird because I think everybody realizes how bad music is, but they can't help it. I think that things are going well for me now, because between things like Coldplay and David Gray, the male singer-songwriter thing can come back around.
"I can officially say I do not understand the music industry. One reaction I get is, 'You know, this is great, but can we get it a little bit shorter, a little more upbeat?' "When I was 18, there were major labels looking at me and they kept on putting me off. I have some friends on labels and they get screwed all the time. I know how tough it is. It's really easy to get lost in the shuffle. None of the business people know what's going on. I'm trying to be as stubborn as possible, because I'm young. I know I have time to fuck up."
One thing that is obvious, something those same A&R guys with their tied hands will tell you, is that Klein can write songs. Interesting and deeply emotional songs. You'll Never Get to Heaven is filled with moods that are dark and inviting. These are songs in which Klein appears to be not just baring his soul, but ripping open his chest so we can see his guts. "I've always had these crazy things happening in my life and I get ideas from them," he explains. "There's no doubt that I'm on the moody and dark side. I think it's easier for people to relate to music if you write what you know. If you write about your experiences, people can relate to them because everybody goes through the same things.
"I'm pretty self-absorbed," he says with a sly chuckle. "I like dark, sinister, and evil. I like taking an emotion and going overboard on it."
For influences, it's not surprising that he declares acts like American Music Club, Nick Drake, the Red House Painters, and "any kind of good, rainy-day music" as his favorites. He's a bit young to remember the Replacements, but he claims Paul Westerberg is his hero. "He's great for one liners. I got turned on to him by one for my older brothers." Taking this all into account, it's no surprise that Klein is a cynical old man at heart
"I don't think people care anymore," he declares. "People don't go out to see live music anymore. Everything is just instant gratification and if you have to sit down and think about it for a second, forget it. People are always talking about the esoteric thing that I do, I'm like, 'It's not that esoteric if you sit down and listen to it for a second.'"

CMJ NEW MUSIC MAGAZINE
Local audiences have been willing to overlook this NYC expat's Yankee past and focus on his dry, Richard Buckner-meets-Pedro The Lion brand of singer/songwriting; like his latest album's title, You'll Never Get To Heaven If You Break My Heart, he's all about wit, unsmiling drama and self-loathing angst.

Pop Culture Press
Jeff Klein has been running a long time to get to the sound and scene that fits him best. He's tried New York, Boston, Chicago, and a host of other places. He's put out one album, Put Your Weight Into It, that he seems to have left behind. Now, he's a member of the Austin scene, and he has a bright future, if You'll Never Get to Heaven if You Break My Heart is any indication. Not that a bright future is what Klein is shooting for. Over the course of 13 songs, Klein drags his heart in and out of love, luck, and fortune with a rootsy, gloomy charm. On tunes like "Blown Away" and "Heaven in Your Arms:' Klein does his best Tom Waits impersonation, dream- ing from the gutter and infusing his vocals with grit and emotion. The disc is mostly laid-back and acoustic, recall- ing Short Mans Room-era Joe Henry, but throws a few punches with rockers like "Fallen Down" and "Break in Two:' Klein hits most of what he’s shooting for here, and is a voice worth listening for. – Nick A. Zaio III

Amazon.com
"You'll never get to heaven if you break my heart" marks the second solo album from acclaimed singer-songwriter Jeff Klein. This time around, offering up 13 songs of love, hate, murder, loneliness, desolation, working to leave the living, and paralysis of the human heart. All of this wrapped up in Klein's great lyrical sensibility and dry wit.

CitySearch
In his fourth year as an Austinite, New York transplant Jeff Klein has truly settled in. His first self-released album, "Put Your Weight on it" (1998) earned him an endorsement from ASCAP as one of the top unsigned artists. Klein's new India Records release "You'll Never Get To Heaven if You Break My Heart," produced by Kitty Gordon/India Records founder Mark Addison, is part folk, part pop. With the exception of "Break in Two," most of the songs on the CD are dark, moody three-quarter time ballads that showcase both his penchant for sarcasm and his gravelly voice. His gigs have been getting better as well. He opened for Shane MacGowan and The Popes and sold-out his Nick Drake tribute.