Draw Them Near
Jess Klein has a few things going for her that might help her emerge from the glut of young, female singer-songwriters flooding an already saturated market. For one, her little-girl voice has an engaging edge to it, much likeJulie MillerorStevie Nicks; for another, her record sports a real band sound that rocks harder than your typical folkie fare. On the down side, she may sound a bit too much like the aforementioned singers to carve out her own recognizable place. Then there are her tunes, dealing with the usual fare of love and loss, minus the powerful melding of lyrics and melody that have made Nicks a superstar and Miller a rising one. Unfortunately, songs such as "I Tried," "I'll Be Alright," and "Love Is Where You Find It" reveal nothing deeper than the clichés of their titles. Only "Ireland" escapes the vagueness that plagues the others, a vagueness that neither Klein's vocal talents nor her muscular band can focus.--Michael Ross