Learning Faith by Jess Klein
Calling it her most "edgy and brutal" offering to date, Jess Klein's compelling 8th studio release features themes such as the hardships of youth and the search for self. Through it, Klein hits the sweet spot every time, making for an engaging listen.
"I pulled no punches on this album," Jess Klein says of Learning Faith. "It's edgy and brutal, but it was inspired by a genuine love for this world."
Learning Faith —which marks Klein's third collaboration with veteran producer Mark "Professor Feathers" Addison—boasts ten personally-charged new originals that rank with her most compelling and illuminating work. Such bracing tunes as "Surrender," "So Fucking Cool," "Wish," "Long Way Down" and "If There's A God" (which she was inspired to write after protesting in support of State Senator Wendy Davis' pro-choice 2013 filibuster at the Texas state capitol building) embody the complementary mix of personal fearlessness and musical craftsmanship that define Klein's music.
"It felt a little different this time," the artist notes. "It was the first time that I ever went into a record really feeling that I'd paid my dues, and that now I'm just gonna do and say whatever I want. I finally feel like I really don't care what anybody thinks now. That felt huge, and it felt really empowering. I felt comfortable going as dark as I could, and not feeling like I had to pull back from that.
"It's also the first time I've started a record with a concept and tried to follow it through," she explains. "After I wrote the song 'Learning Faith,' that started me thinking about writing a whole album of songs about the process of developing faith—faith in people, faith in the universe, faith in a higher power. I wanted each song to be about some kind of struggle with faith, and asking what faith really means to me.
Learning Faith's rich emotional and musical palette is consistent with the level of commitment that Jess Klein has always brought to her music. The Rochester, NY native taught herself to play her father's acoustic guitar in her teens, and began writing songs as a college student in Kingston, Jamaica. After graduation, she relocated to Boston, where she began performing locally and won acclaim for her self-released debut album Wishes Well Disguised. The attention helped to win her a deal with the Rykodisc label, for which she recorded the albums Draw Them Near and Strawberry Lover, which were warmly received by critics as well as Klein's growing audience.
Since parting ways with Rykodisc, Klein has continued to stake out brave new lyrical and musical territory on such albums as 2006's City Garden, 2009's Bound to Love and 2012's Behind A Veil.
"This can be a hard job, and it does require a certain amount of faith to continue doing it," Klein observes, adding, "There have been several points where I've questioned my career choice. But every time I've gotten close to feeling defeated, I've pulled myself back up and come out of it stronger. And the more times I choose to keep doing it, the stronger I feel about it, and the stronger I feel about reaching a little deeper and putting everything out on the table.”
"When you're younger, you don't totally know who you are yet, and you're still trying to figure things out. Now I feel more at ease with who I am and why I do this. My motivation now for playing music is to connect with people, and to do that by connecting with myself, which is the hardest and scariest part.”
"The reward," she concludes, "is those moments where all the other bullshit subsides and you have a total, pure connection with the audience, or with just one person. I feel so blessed to be able to have this connection with people that's based on something real, and I guess that that's what I look for now."
Tracklist
| 1. | Learning Faith | 4:51 |
| 2. | So Fucking Cool | 2:59 |
| 3. | If There's a God | 3:22 |
| 4. | Surrender | 4:21 |
| 5. | Loving You | 3:04 |
| 6. | Wish | 4:17 |
| 7. | Dear God | 4:45 |
| 8. | Only the Blues | 4:11 |
| 9. | Open Road | 4:48 |
| 10. | Long Way Down | 4:26 |
Credits
Jess Klein - acoustic and electric guitars, porchboard
Professor Feathers - bass, baritone guitar, electric guitar, organs, arp, water tank, casio, loops, slide guitar, mellotron
Billy Masters - electric guitars
Rob Hooper, drums
John Paul Keenon - drums
Wendy Colonna - backing vocals
BJ Lazarus - mandolin
Produced by Professor Feathers
Executive Producers: Phil Collins and D Christopher Decker
Recorded and mixed by Professor Feathers
Mastered by Dave McNair
Photo: Phillip F. Patterson, Jr.
Artwork: Tommy Turner
All songs written by Jess Klein ©2014 House of Leo Music (ASCAP)
All rights reserved. Used by permission. International copyright secured. Licensing: Words & Music, Nashville
Thank you
Feathers, Billy, Rob, JP, Wendy, BJ, Colin Brooks, Dave McNair, Andy Carrell, Phillip, Tommy, PledgeMusic, Strange Brew, Arlo Guthrie, Jon Dee Graham, Paula Russell, Craig Grossman, Del Day, Jenni Finlay, Words & Music, Edgar Heckmann & Blue Rose, Gil Ramos, Bernard Zuel, Justin Fallen, Toni Bravo, Carol Ahlgren, The Steve & Eileen Engelmeyer Family, Christopher D. Brown, Mike & Pat Czepiel, Rich Hanson, Mike Fickel, June Howe, Martin Ziesch, Lisa Goldthwaite, Jennifer Staudenmaier, Andreas Laemmermann, Jack & Pam Neville, Blair McCloskey, Al Weiss, Matt the E & Wednesday song game peeps, Tanene Alison & all the brave Texan sisters & brothers for the inspiration Mom, Dad, Junie, Stripes and all of you who listen for helping me LEARN FAITH
License
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Rochester, NY native Jess Klein is known for staking out brave lyrical and musical territory with such albums as Wishes Well Disguised (1998), Draw Them Near (2000), Strawberry Lover (2005), City Garden (2006), Bound to Love (2009), Behind A Veil (2012) and Learning Faith (2014) which Folk Radio UK calls “unquestionably the finest album of [her] impressive career.”