R&B/soul music group, Thee Sacred Souls, released their second album, “Got a Story to Tell” on Oct. 4. Prior to the album dropping, the group came out four singles titled “Lucid Girl,” “Live For You,” “Waiting on the Right Time” and “My Heart is Drowning.” The album consists of 12 tracks and is 38 minutes long. “Got a Story to Tell” was released two years after the group’s first album, “Thee Sacred Souls.” The band consists of one singer, Josh Lane, and two instrumentalists, Alejandro Garcia who plays drums and guitar and Salvador Samano who plays bass and drums.
The first song on the album is “Lucid Girl.” The song opens with the phrase “I’ve got a story to tell,” referencing the album title and follows a storytelling format. The story is about a girl who learns to love herself. In her journey to love herself, she grows as a person. I like this song as it shows self love is as important as any other type of love.
In “Got a Story to Tell,” both the music and the lyrics combine to tell a story in each song. Balancing both their personal lives and a tour, Thee Sacred Souls channel their experiences into this second album. We see this with the song “Somebody Knew.” Lane sings “Now I’m the fool who lost his lover to someone that he hardly knew.” These experiences allow the album to feel more raw and intimate than their previous works.
My favorite songs from this album are “On My Mind,” “Waiting on the Right Time,” “Somebody Knew” and “Losing Side of Love.” “On My Mind” and “Waiting on the Right Time” are love songs while “Somebody Knew” and “Losing Side of Love” are heartbreak songs. I enjoyed these songs because they were personal, it felt like listening to someone speaking about their feelings.
With each track in the album, there is a mix of background vocals and vocal layering. With the vocal layering, I noticed a pattern throughout the album. In the first song, Lane repeats what he’s saying after he’s already sung it, like an echo. Whether it is Lane or Be I really enjoy that component Lane adds into the songs because it brings a little fun to it. The background vocalist is Jensine Benitez and she’s worked with the group on her own projects. Her harmonies mixed in with Lane’s gives the songs an angelic feel.
A song I honestly believe I needed to hear is “Live For You.” The song focuses on self love and how that love can help you love those around you, but you need to find that love from within. A lyric that stood out to me is “learn to love yourself, the way you love the idea of love.” How I interpreted it was so many people fantasize about how it feels to be in love/loved by someone. In order to really experience that love, you’ve got to love and live for yourself.
The last song on the album is “I’m So Glad I Found You, Baby.” The song sounds like a ballad, professing how grateful you are to have found the one you love. The background vocals really carry the song, making the tune catchy. “I’m So Glad I Found You, Baby” was a great way to end the album.
This album’s for hopeless romantics. If you like Thee Sacred Souls or “Got a Story to Tell,” you’ll definitely enjoy Jalen Ngonda or Ley Soul.
“Got a Story to Tell:” ★★★★★
