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San Diego trio sway and swoon off of self-titled debut with sweet second.

To say that the debut from this band in 2022 was a success story is an understatement. Hits Easier Said Than Done and Can I Call You Rose? dominated U.S radio stations with its warm and fuzzy tones of a vintage sound.

Amplified by the trio’s explosive NPR Tiny Desk concert earlier in the year, it’s crossover of California Latino culture and American soul roots bought about an ever-bigger audience to an ever-expansive space for love and an appreciation of history to our soul lovers.

Now, with a fiendish glint in their eyes, they embark once again to make note that they’re not worth just the one sizzle of delight. A soaring statement of intent, Got a Story to Tell is another twelve-parter laced with sweet allure, romance and all-new twangs on the heart. Lucid Girl and Live For You are the burning emblems fit for any era, as they steer the sophomore in the right direction. My Heart is Drowning, meanwhile, is very much a fitting backdrop to any noir detective depiction of a budding romance lost undoubtedly to the job.

Where this album begins to slip, however, are the incessant feelings of familiarity throughout, despite soul music being a very enriching experience, a lot of these songs nearing the back-end are almost one-dimensional in colour, almost as if they found it really difficult to round it out in-house. The sophomore album curse/syndrome very much exists and unfortunately for Thee Sacred Souls, is it very much alive and kicking.

While Got a Story to Tell has some endearing qualities, it often finds itself difficult to replicate the initial success from their roaring debut that very much upended their seemingly “easy-going” lives. With all this said and done, it’s still an empowering state to find ourselves in with nostalgic soul music still alive and kicking.

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