It's hard to believe that one of the most personal and acutely intimate North American albums of the year could translate to an audience of 50,000 at an outdoor rock music festival in Japan.

It's harder still to imagine that one person, a 26-year-old relative newcomer, alone with her delicate words, soft guitar and treacle-sweet vocals, would be comfortable delivering that message.

But if anyone could compete with acts such as Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, and Fishbone, it would be Jess Klein.

"It felt more natural to me than other shows," Klein says from her Boston home.

"It felt really right to me ..."

If there's any justice in the world, those should be common audiences for Klein and the songs from her sophomore release, appropriately titled Draw Them Near.

The album and Klein herself are a breath of fresh air on the music scene, encompassing country, rock and pop and transcending the glut of mediocrity clogging the airwaves.

"It's interesting because people keep asking me do I think I can succeed given what's mostly on the radio, like Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys and stuff like that," she says.

"But I feel like what's on the radio or what isn't is beside the point -- a well-written song appeals to people no matter what."

Recorded in Nashville with a band that includes Wilco's drummer Ken Coomer and bassist Brad Jones, who's worked with Ron Sexsmith and Matthew Sweet, the album has a warm, welcoming old-time feel to it.

But it's Klein's almost literary approach to heartache and relationship lyrics, and her alluring voice -- which crosses the heart-tugging naivete of Kelly Willis with the hard-earned experience of Emmylou Harris -- that makes Draw Them Near one of this year's finest releases.

"It's really important to me to be able to paint an image in a song and not just say, 'I feel: blah, blah, blah.' Instead to conjure up something more intricate than that, and at the same time use words judiciously."