Southern Californian newcomers Thee Sacred Souls have already received a lot of advance praise prior to the release of their self-titled debut, playing sold-out shows and garnering the support of celebrity fans ranging from Alicia Keys to Princess Nokia and Black Pumas to Timbaland. Now we can finally see for ourselves whether the trio’s dozen songs justify the hype. Their variable soul is retro and modern at the same time, catchy and timeless, the mood and instrumentation absolutely stylish and almost frighteningly seasoned for a debut. Lead singer Josh Lane’s vocal performance is a testament to his classical voice training as well as his love for Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson. The rhythm section grooves with all its heart and the use of strings, horns, Hammond organs and background vocals underlines the catchy character of most of the songs. So there is nothing to criticise about the musical rendition – however, the lyrical focus on love and heartbreak does get a bit tiring after a while, unfortunately. I, at least, would liked to have seen – analogous to the stylistic diversity – a little more variety in the themes for the lyrics. As it is, »Thee Sacred Souls« is a harmonious, coherent, but unfortunately somewhat monothematic collection of songs, produced by Daptone co-founder Gabe Roth, which will certainly find its audience and will not disappoint their biggest fans.
Sho-Nuff
Body Pressure
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