Regular visitors to this blog know: Sean Keel has one of those voices that stops you in your tracks—rough-edged, weary, and utterly human. Your brain debates whether to evoke goosebumps or tears, but you feel every single word. This is no less true for his new EP The Breeze That Brought Them, three songs that sound lived-in, deeply felt. In a sense it is a love letter to his mother.

The Austin-based singer-songwriter pares things back to just piano and voice, with producer Gabriel Rhodes providing the delicate keys that cradle the pretty intense storytelling—humility and honesty shine through in every line. The music never overwhelms the words; instead, it leaves space for Keel’s cracked voice to carry the weight: “Ma’s eyes went blind, she’d still close em // She’d close her eyes to sing // She’d close her eyes and sing.”

The Breeze That Brought Them, produced by Gabriel Rhodes, is out now digitally through Icons Creating Evil Art.

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