keshi - Requiem

Houston singer, songwriter and producer keshi made his name with hushed, late-night confessions, and Requiem, his second album, pulls those whispers into a much bigger frame.

Released through Island in 2024, two years after his debut Gabriel, the record keeps the soft, close-mic vocals his fans fell for but surrounds them with fuller arrangements, where guitars and drums swell and recede like weather. It is a moody, searching set, and the title is a fair clue to its spirit: these are songs about what lingers once something ends, sung by someone who would rather sit with a feeling than rush past it.

Lead single "Say" builds slowly before its chorus opens up, and "Soft Spot" pairs a tender admission with a melody that refuses to leave your head. "Texas" rolls along with a warm, wistful lilt, while "Dream" drifts somewhere between lullaby and slow-motion heartbreak. Even at its loudest, the record never loses the intimacy that made his early songs feel like secrets.

keshi has always blurred the line between R&B, indie pop and bedroom rock, and Requiem is where that blend sounds most confident, cohesive and his own.

It is a record for headphones, dim lights and the last hour before sleep, and it plays beautifully front to back on vinyl.