jeff klein

The world keeps on turning, but mostly it’s turning on you.

I heard that lyric on KZSU and I knew I had to learn more about its author. After a few google searches (no success) and then some trial and error reviewing KZSU's online playlists, I found the writer (Jeff Klein) and the song ("The 19th Hole" from the 2005 album The Hustler). After a short trip to Tower, I had it playing on my stereo.

Recorded in his bedroom in New Orleans over 17 days pre-Katrina, the principal themes of The Hustler (Amazon, iTunes) are love fading and lost. The melodies are stripped down and emotional, the words are dark and complex. The opening line from “Put You to Sleep” is representative and brilliantly captures the end stage of a relationship:

I’m leaving in the morning, and packing all my things
Searching for a point of view, of the same damn thing
I used to be so entertaining, I could sweep you off your feet
Now all it seems these days I could do is put you to sleep

Other adjectives that can describe the album include intimate, evocative, edgy and, occasionally, disturbing. Standout tracks are the two mentioned above along with “Stripped” and “Pity,” but the album hangs together beautifully in a way that is rare these days.

Visit Jeff’s myspace page