There’s a line in the biopic Ray in which Mr. Charles explains that his love of country and western music is rooted in the stories within those genres.

Lafayette-based singer-songwriter Sean Bruce shares that same affinity, utilizing folk and country’s storytelling aspects over the five tracks comprising his EP Staring at Maps, Part 1.

Bruce’s confident, country-tinged voice tells tales of heartbreak over slick, professional production courtesy of various recording studios across Louisiana. The result is a collection of stories centered around place.

While “Canyon” provides a story about getting lost in nature only to find oneself, many of the songs revolve around well-worn country tropes: drinking with down-on-their-luck barflies or reminiscing about a simple childhood in the country.

The musicianship on Staring at Maps is tasteful and understated, with banjo rolls and arena-sized drums effectively peppering the record. The instrumentation and storytelling come together on the meditative “Queen of England,” a war-as-metaphor-for-romantic-relationships epic.

Despite a few cliché lines (“You may have won the battle, but the war has just begun” could be a Hollywood sequel tagline), the stark tale of a soldier finding hope in a desperate situation is mirrored by the music, with a somber beginning belying the film-score scope of the melody and instruments.

When the battle rages up, the music follows, with marching drums reflecting traveling soldiers and a 15-second folk/country/rock explosion coming at the end of the song, signifying the coming war.

It underscores Bruce’s canny ability to tell a tale, even if some of the stories can be brought into the 21st Century.