• ALBUM REVIEW: Thee Sacred Souls Are Back with a Funky New ‘Story’

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    Jim Shahen Posted On October 1, 2024
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    In 2022, Thee Sacred Souls made a splash with its eponymous debut. That record was an enticing mix of Chicano soul, doo wop and Impressions-esque R&B. This week, the vocal trio is back with its follow-up, entitled Got a Story to Tell.

    To be blunt, it’s fantastic.

    But let’s dig a little deeper. Got a Story to Tell maintains much of what there was to love on Thee Sacred Souls’ first LP, while also pushing the group’s sound into new and exciting directions.

    Opening track “Lucid Girl” sets the tone for the entire album. Singer Josh Lane’s voice is silky smooth as ever as he switches his delivery up from falsetto to croon with ease. The high harmony backing vocals accentuate his voice wonderfully. But what makes this song, and the album, different is the more overtly funky rhythm and keys, courtesy of bassist Sal Samano and keyboard player Riley Dunn. It subtly moves Thee Sacred Souls’ aesthetic away from the early-to-mid-1960s tack of its debut.

    “Live For You” has a melody reminiscent of Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy, Mercy Me,” with Lane’s pleading refrain of the title sounding eerily similar to the late soul great. It pairs nicely with the smooth soul of “On My Mind,” a dreamy midtempo track about acknowledging life’s complexities and how they shape a person.

    Thee Sacred Souls throw a musical curveball with “My Heart Is Drowning.” It’s a mixture of classic, slick Motown soul-pop and Jamaican rocksteady. Lane is reliably solid, but it’s the back-ups from Styn Turrentine and Viane Escobar that elevate the song and make it, arguably, the finest track on Go Tell a Story.

    “I’m So Glad I Found You, Baby” brings Go Tell a Story to a close. A classic soul ballad about returning home to one’s love after a long time spent away, it concludes the album on a pleasing listen and emotionally satisfying experience.

     




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