India, Jan. 16 -- There is something delectably anachronistic about watching a young band in 2026 commit themselves to the sound of 1968. Yet that's precisely what Thee Sacred Souls have been doing since they emerged from San Diego's garage scene, and judging by their packed festival schedule - from California's Old School Love Show in March to New York's Governors Ball Music Festival in June and Birmingham's Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul Festival in July - audiences can't seem to get enough of it.

The trio's "sweet soul" aesthetic isn't pretentious pastiche or vintage cosplay. It is a deliberate rejection of the synthetic smoothness that dominates contemporary production, and a return to the crackle and hiss of analog tape, and the slight imp...