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.
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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.
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