SACRED SOUL…

Over the last couple of years young San Diego-based  trio THEE SACRED SOULS have made quite a name for themselves amongst the soul cognoscenti. Drummer/songwriter Alex Garcia  bassist/songwriter Sal Samano and vocalist Josh Lane’s craft the now fashionable soul sound  that takes the essence of classic 60s and 70s harmony groups and delivers it in a thoroughly contemporary way. And though we say, “now fashionable”, the magical sound of the sweet vocal group has actually never gone away. Class and quality never go out of fashion and Thee Sacred Soul deliver both in abundance!

The band have four acclaimed singles to their name and between them those singles racked up more than ten million streams in a year and garnered attention from major outlets like Billboard and Rolling Stone and next week they launch their much anticipated long player.

The eponymous 12 tracker reveals why there is such a buzz on the band. Produced  by Daptone’s Gabe Roth (aka Bosco Mann) who knows just a little about retro soul, the album is a wonderful amalgam of Philly, Chicago and Detroit soul with, in places, the grit of Memphis, the optimism of Latin soul and  the romance of lowrider soul. Singer, Lane has the sweetest falsetto this side of the Philly maestros. His heroes number Smokey and Marvin and his soulfulness hovers weightlessly over the solid  soul pocket crafted by Garcia and Samano.

The album opens with a track that was the group’s first single and the lovely ‘Can I Call You Rose’ sets the tone for what’s to follow. The cut has a real Marvin Gaye flavour – the passionate vocal, the soaring layered harmonies and the short and sweet monologue all create modern soul magic. On a more pedestrian album, this would be the standout cut but here, every cut is a standout that bears repeated playing. Little wonder that US soul tastemakers (radio and written word) are so enthusiastic about this album – most agree it’s the best debut since Durand Jones and the Indications broke through and the Souls offer the same soulful, sonic template.

We’ve had some great soul albums this year – Mamas Gun, Laura Rain, Mica Miller and more, and now we have Thee Sacred Soul which comes hugely recommended.

‘THEE SACRED SOULS’ released August 26th via Daptone/Penrose.

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