{"id":336935,"date":"2026-10-25T08:20:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T08:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoustics.com\/music\/thee-sinseers-love-stories-album-review\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T20:07:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T20:07:20","slug":"thee-sinseers-love-stories-album-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoustics.com\/music\/thee-sinseers-love-stories-album-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Thee Sinseers’ Love Stories Review: East L.A. Soul Brings 1969 Back to Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Maybe you first heard classic soul and R&B music on a transistor AM radio in the late 1960s. Or perhaps you discovered doo-wop through the 1970s oldies revival, courtesy of the film American Graffiti<\/em> and the hit retro television sitcom Happy Days<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However you found your way to this vast umbrella of rhythm and blues sounds\u2014from The Stylistics, The Delfonics, Eddie Holman, and The Dells to The Paragons, The Jesters, and even War\u2014you would be wise to give East L.A.\u2019s fantastic modern soul sensations, Thee Sinseers<\/strong>, a listen. Their sophomore album, Love Stories<\/em>, on Colemine Records, is another musical journey that feels like channel-surfing across an alternate-universe radio dial circa 1969.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of a nationwide \u201csouldies\u201d<\/strong> scene, Thee Sinseers are among the premier bands in a movement that combines fresh songwriting with a deep reverence for musical history and tradition. Led by Joey Qui\u00f1ones, this collective is remarkably faithful to the era, right down to its vintage instrumentation and period production techniques\u2014from vibrato-drenched guitars, horn sections, and shimmering orchestral strings to lush, reverb-soaked vocal harmonies.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Love Stories<\/em> plants its earworms early, beginning with the album\u2019s opener, \u201cOh Love,\u201d which features an Otis Redding-worthy introduction and the irresistible chorus hook, \u201clove was meant for everyone.\u201d \u201cLet \u2019Em Shine\u201d would have made Brian Wilson smile, while \u201cMinute By Minute\u201d pays homage to Don & Juan\u2019s 1961 hit \u201cWhat\u2019s Your Name.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picture-perfect from start to finish, Love Stories<\/em> closes with the instrumental \u201cWhile You Were Sleeping,\u201d a heartfelt homage to Santo & Johnny\u2019s 1959 smash hit \u201cSleep Walk.\u201d It\u2019s a fitting conclusion to an album that celebrates the sounds of another era without simply recycling them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The packaging for Love Stories<\/em> is every bit as charming as the music, featuring a die-cut photo frame design that encourages listeners to insert their own family photograph into the inner sleeve. This kind of creativity harkens back to the 1960s and \u201970s, when artists and record labels went the extra mile to make an album a complete visual and musical experience. It\u2019s a thoughtful touch that recalls one of the great pleasures of physical media, something largely lost on a streaming generation that rarely gets to experience album artwork as anything more than a thumbnail on a screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You can get Love Stories<\/em> on vinyl from Amazon for about $26.98<\/a> or CD for just $11.79<\/a>.  While there, grab Sinseerly Yours<\/em> on vinyl<\/a> or CD<\/a>. You can also find many fun color vinyl variant and deluxe editions at Colemine Records<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thee Sinseers are on tour now so do try to see them live (click here<\/a> for tour dates). I\u2019m excited to see their November 6th show here at San Francisco\u2019s Fillmore Auditorium (which will be my third time seeing them on stage!). Given Love Stories<\/em>\u2019s lush slow burn and the super chill pace of Joey Qui\u00f1ones\u2019 solo album<\/a> (which I reviewed earlier this year), I suspect the show will mine that same mellow lowrider vibe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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