keshi - Requiem (Deluxe) (2025) Hi-Res

The Houston-born artist further enhances his lush sound, Keshi's Requiem is for friend and collaborator Sebastian Sdaigui, a film director and producer who died weeks before the singer/songwriter released his Top 20 debut Gabriel. The title song appears toward the end of this more lustrous and varied second album with a simply worded but affecting ballad where light piano evokes falling tears. Closer to the end, there's the existentialist "Just to Die," a soft, country-tinged outpouring of grief and resignation. The effects of loss don't quite permeate Requiem. Romantic heartache with mixed emotions, Keshi's bread and butter, is more common. The mode is exemplified by the mellow-grooving "Say," the shimmering "Dream," and the simultaneously downcast and affectionate "Soft Spot," all of which make optimal use of the singer's light, tremulous voice.