ALBUM REVIEW: Thee Sinseers Announce Their Soulful Arrival with ‘Sinseerly Yours’
Jim Shahen
Posted On March 18, 2024
Helmed by vocalist and bandleader Joey Quinones, SoCal outfit Thee Sinseers has been steadily cultivating its style over the past five years, an approach that blends ’60s R&B with smooth Chicano soul. The group makes the jump from singles to full-length projects with the release of Sinseerly Yours. With its lush orchestrations and killer vocal arrangements and performances, it builds on the potential of Thee Sinseers’ singles and successfully expands the group’s sound.
Sinseerly Yours opens with “What’s His Name.” The mid-tempo jam offers up a three-minute encapsulation of everything Thee Sinseers do best, from Quinones’ heartfelt vocal delivery to pitch-perfect harmony vocals to the use of horns and strings to heighten the emotional import of the track.
The various sonic elements utilized by Thee Sinseers come together to create music that certainly hearkens back to the past, but the group manages to avoid sounding anachronistic. The gorgeous ballad “Hold On” has echoes of Sam Cooke and early Solomon Burke, but its punchy production and sharp execution lend it a modern sheen.
While most of the 10 songs on Sinseerly Yours fall in the ballad-to-mid-tempo range, there are a couple of selections that’ll get you up and moving. “Talking Back” has a groove reminiscent of James Brown’s legendary “Night Train” and in lieu of lyrics in the traditional sense, there are some calls-and-response and casual background chatter, giving the song a party atmosphere and sense of spontaneity.
Penultimate track “Can’t Do That to Her” is a breath of fresh air. It seamlessly blends the classic Motown male vocal group harmonics with Latin soul. There’s a palpable ebullience in Quinones’ singing and his dynamic with his backing vocalists that makes the song an absolute delight.
Really, the word “delight” could be used to describe the entire Sinseerly Yours LP. From start to finish, it’s a consistently pleasing and engaging listening experience.
Thee Sinseers’ Sinseely Yours is out March 22 on Colemine Records.
