Jess Klein
Bound to Love (United for Opportunity)On Jess Klein's latest, the recent Boston-to-Austin transplant takes a levelheaded approach, embracing her new city and finding footing in the singer-songwriter mountain, with some help from the locals. Scrappy Jud Newcomb and Mark Addison produce, Slaid Cleaves and Matt the Electrician guest, and songs like clear, focused opener "When the Time Comes" make it seem like she's had an Austin ZIP code for years now. The pop-tinged "Postcard" and a cover of John Hiatt's "Before I Go" show her range – folk and country are obviously her strong points, but she takes Hiatt's blues and puts a gospel sheen on it. "Fool," her duet with Cleaves, is a pedal steel tearjerker, and on closer "What For," she explains how she found her footing: "I lived my life safely/Making steps like a baby/Til I sat in an old car/Pushed the pedal to the floor."
