Brennan Keller, stage name Brenn!, hails in from Tuscaloosa Alabama is known for his folk-pop Americana sound blending his small town introspective lyricism and energetic acoustic instruments. His brief upcoming through TikTok has earned him many comparisons to artists such as Noah Kahan. We can see a great example of his sound through his album Amateur At Best where he shares his vulnerable experiences during one of the hardest times of his life and more in a conversation with BeatRoute diving deep into the creation of his debut album.

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Why was Amateur at Best the right title for this chapter of your life?

Brenn!: This was a very trying chapter where I had a very difficult time kind of doing things well. Well, let me reel back a little bit. I had a hard time accepting the fact that what I was doing was not the best I could do. And I kind of had to swallow my pride a little bit and, as the kids say, “lock in.” So yeah, I think that kind of encompasses the feeling.

You’ve described the album as a snapshot of the last few years. What moment feels the most representative of who you are today?

B: I think the biggest moment was seeing.I pulled a few buddies of mine to do this album with me, Maddox Schaeffer and Mort Elderton. They’re so incredible, and just seeing them grow as artists as well and become something bigger than me, and better than me, through this process.

They started out with no real footing in the music industry, and watching them evolve and become more established in their careers definitely encouraged me to do more and work harder.

This album deals with some pretty personal experiences. Was there a song that you almost didn’t release because it felt too vulnerable?

B: “SILHAVY” just kind of started as a voice memo of me crying at the piano and just spitting words out. The first verse or so was freestyle, and I chopped it down a little bit over time.

I showed it to one person, and they were like, “Dude, this is the best thing I’ve ever heard. You have to put it out.”

The whole take is literally just me at a piano with poorly set-up microphones, and somehow I made it work. It’s one take. No click track, nothing. It’s very emotional, very raw. I literally coughed during it, and that’s still in the recording.

So I think that song definitely felt the most vulnerable.

How do you decide what parts of your life stay private and what becomes lyrics?

B: I don’t think there’s anything you need to feel ashamed to keep hidden—or, I don’t want to say ashamed.

I don’t think there’s really anything that needs to stay hidden when you’re doing something like this because you’re just telling an honest story about an experience.

So yeah, the deeper, the better.

Is there a reason you’re so honest in your songwriting? Is it for you, or is it for your fans?

B: It’s for me. Easy. It’s a way to get it out. It’s not even that I have a hard time expressing it—it’s just that I like the challenge of making a funky beat to some really sad words.

Do any songs feel like a conversation with your younger self?

B: No. I don’t really be doing that.

There’s lots of baseball imagery throughout the project. How did that metaphor become the thread that ties everything together?

B: I just thought there’s nothing more relatable than hometown baseball. Really sad, dried-out baseball fields, unkempt jerseys, people who are just trying to do it because they want to.

I don’t know. I just felt like everyone can relate to hometown baseball, no matter where you are.

What does being “amateur,” quote unquote, mean to you now compared to when you started writing these songs?

B: There’s always going to be someone better than you. You just have to swallow your pride at the end of the day and work hard at what you know how to do now.

You said you wanted the album to feel organic, homegrown, and unpolished. What were some moments where you intentionally left imperfections in the final recordings?

B: “SILHAVY” is a great example, with the cough still in there.

There are also little background noises—my dog barking, random stuff happening throughout some of the songs. If you listen closely, you’ll notice them.

One that sticks out the most is “Too Much.” It’s the ninth track, I think. Literally everything happening was tracked at the same time on the same microphone. Super roomy acoustic vocals, very bedroom feeling.

I wanted it to sound like it was being played downstairs, like how we originally wrote it. That was probably the most careless one, in a good way.

How did moving away from home change your songwriting?

B: It definitely gave me space to belt and scream whenever I wanted to.

I feel like I write more often now, and that evolves into something greater over time.

What did you learn about yourself while recording this record?

B: I’m a loser.

I don’t really do anything other than this. This is my life in a nutshell. I don’t have many hobbies anymore, but I love doing this.

I feel like that’s kind of a loser thing, but no, I’m a happy loser.

When fans look back on this album ten years from now, what do you hope they remember most?

B: I think everyone should have their own experience with this album. I hope it’s still relevant in ten years, who knows?

But if it is, I hope they remember the title of the album the most.

If listeners could take away one message from the album what would you want it to be?

B: It’s okay not to be the best.

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