Five-time GRAMMY-nominated, eight-time GMA Dove Award recipient and Platinum-selling singer / songwriter Brandon Heath has released his ninth studio record and second LP with Centricity Music, The Ache. The album holds the tension of loss and longing, sharing the intrinsic ache experienced this side of heaven while pointing listeners to the things that matter most to Heath — family, faith, community and his ultimate belief that there is life after death.

While The Ache was inspired by hard moments, the album’s 11 originals, all co-written by Heath, were also influenced by the life growing all around him, even in the midst of sadness.

“Every record I release is a snapshot of the season I’m in, and I thought this was going to be a record about mourning,” Heath admits after watching his mom live out her final days. “But I’ve learned that two things can exist at the same time. You can talk about heavy things with a joyful spirit, and I have totally embraced paradox in this season. I knew there was going to be sadness, but I also knew there was going to be joy because I knew where my mom was going.”

STREAM THE FULL ALBUM HERE

The Ache features the steady acoustic-pop of album standout “Gospel Truth,” which sums up how Heath reconciles the heartbreaking realities of this life with what he knows to be true of God.

“It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve written in a long time,” he confesses of the track that reads like a personal mantra and is featured by The Recording Academy. “It just fits me so well, and it tells the story of who I am and what’s important to me.”