Contemporary soul music embraces the rich history of the genre, with groups throughout the U.S. and internationally performing everything from Stax-inspired Southern soul to northern soul-favored anthems fit for the dancefloor. Yet one subgenre of soul music has burst forth to capture the ears of generations of listeners: sweet soul.
Favored by young, touring groups like Durand Jones and the Indications, Thee Sacred Souls and Thee Sinseers, this avenue of soul music embraces slower tempos, group vocals, and, often, lovestruck lyrics. Originally released in the mid-1960s, classic sweet soul tracks from the likes of Brenton Wood, Thee Midniters, The Blendells, and Sunny & The Sunliners were often B-sides and, today, are prized by 45-r.p.m. collectors the world over.
The music, past and present, has been embraced specifically by Chicano communities, who not only listen to its OG cuts but comprise much of its current fandom and musicianship. Sweet soul's modern resurgence has been led through Daptone Records’ West Coast coast offshoot Penrose Recordings, Ohio-based funk/soul label Colemine Records, and in unlikely locales like Sweden, Florida, and Bloomington, Indiana.
Although the revived, wider interest in sweet soul music is only about five years old, the sound was always an influence in the current generation of soul acts. For example, Durand Jones and the Indications' pleading blues-based 2016 single "Make A Change" resonated with funk collectors, the B-side, "Is It Any Wonder?" (featuring drummer Aaron Frazer's gentle falsetto) caught the ear of sweet soul aficionados and became the band's breakthrough. A well-placed live performance recorded in 2017 by Paste Magazine netted 61 million views on Youtube.
In the four years following that viral success, indie funk/soul labels like Big Crown and Colemine released notable sweet soul singles from groups like Thee Lakesiders and the Sentiments (a side project of Kelly Finnigan of the Bay Area band the Monophonics). Meanwhile, Daptone Records offered U.S. distribution to overseas labels like Timmion Records in Helsinki, Finland. But, it was Daptone founder Gabe Roth’s move to his family’s home in California's Inland Empire, building a recording studio, and launching the subsidiary Penrose Recordings in 2020 that set off a sweet soul movement to audiences outside collector and Chicano communities. The label debuted with singles by mostly East L.A. groups like Los Yesterdays, the Altons, Thee Sinseers, and Gen Z favorites Thee Sacred Souls.
Penrose Recordings continues to expand its hold on the California scene by recording San Luis Obispo’s The Charities and widening their sound through the likes of Vicky Tafoya, whose Penrose singles veer more towards doo-wop and with a hint of Wall of Sound. Former Souls backup singer Jensine Benitez released her own dynamic single that eludes the original amateurism of sweet soul "Ilusión de Amor" b/w "The Sparkle In Your Eyes."
Outside of the world of Daptone, the Indications released their fourth album, Flowers, at the end of June. The "grown and sexy" (per a press release) record is exploratory, but leans into their slow and soulful style on "Been So Long," which directly references cruising culture. Perhaps seeking that magic that makes so many sweet soul classics feel intangible, The Indications stuck to one-take demos in the studio.
While today's sweet soul scene is international, this music is often grounded in the people and culture of East L.A. and other communities with a large Latino population. From its origins in Southern California car culture and Art Laboe’s KRLA request radio show, to beloved compilations like East Side Story and DJs like Reuben Molina, this music — also referred to as Chicano soul, lowrider oldies or rolas — is part of a tradition.
The following list is 11 essential songs that offer a glimpse into the modern sweet soul sound. And to dig deeper into the music, seek out releases from Kimberlite Records and songs by Thee Heart Tones, Thee Illusions, Junior Scaife, Trish Toledo, Camden, Adrian Carmine, Las Lagrimas, and Andre Cruz & Chris Lujan.
In a 2022 interview with Wax Poetics magazine, Frazer credited his and guitarist Blake Rhein’s love for obscure soul 45s to groups like The Whatnauts. He also felt the modern influence of Daptone, and noted a striking difference between the Brooklyn label’s early aughts scene and the Indications’ basement session isolation in Indiana.
"A lot of those funk people come out of the James Brown school of frontmen/frontwomen," he said. "A lot of those band members grinded it out in bars playing Afrobeat and uptempo stuff. Us hanging out in our basement naturally moved us towards a downtempo paradigm."
The success of "Is It Any Wonder?" completely caught the group off guard. By stripping the sound to a Rhodes piano, sparse guitar licks, and percussion rim shots keeping time, the subdue space allowed Frazer’s silky falsetto to shine. They were, at the time, unaware of the Chicano soul community out West. Reflecting on how things changed after their first sweet soul hit, Frazer told Wax Poetics, "it's crazy how many sweet soul bands there are. And more are popping up everyday. It’s so cool to see how much the scene has expanded since then."
Timmion Records has been releasing sweet soul B-sides on their 45s since 2009, but it was "Lost Lost Lost" that drew attention to the Helsinki-based label. Produced by the illustrious Cold Diamond and Mink, "Lost Lost Lost" felt like it came straight from an unearthed private press label from a bygone time on L.A.'s Whittier Boulevard. It had all the woeful touches of crushing heartbreak that make a great sweet soul song.\
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The Finnish duo of Pratt & Moody obscured their real names of Tuomo Prättälä and Markus Nordenstreng to appeal to a traditional soul audience. Their "Wheels Turning" 7-inch from 2020 is an equally essential entry into the modern sweet soul canon, while the 2024 single "Creeping Around" shows the duo is still active.
Timmion house band and producers Cold Diamond and Mink ran their own sweet soul factory with a collection of Finnish singers that included Bobby Oroza, Emilia Sisco, Pratt & Moody, and even Americans like Jonny Benavidez. Oroza's 2016 single "This Love" may be the label's biggest soul export. An underground sweet soul hit prior to the Indications and Thee Sacred Souls taking the sound to higher planes.
Looking to expand into the States, Orozo signed with Brooklyn’s Big Crown around the time the label had secured the rights to release a Sunny & The Sunliners compilation. A beloved group among the Chicano soul community, the label smartly requested that Oroza cover the Sunliners classic "Should I Take You Home?" to introduce the Finish/Belizean artist to an American audience. Hip-hop heads will recognize a few Sunliners classics have been sampled by Exile and Madlib.
This single released on Florida's Mango Hill Records proves the inclination towards slower jams wasn’t just a California thing. Founded in 2016, Mango Hill Records rose from the ashes of Miami Latin soul band Ketchy Shuby and founder Jason Joshua was seeking a new creative outlet for his friends' music. Launched with the help of recent Florida transplant Adam Scone (organist of Daptone Records' Sugarman 3), the label first released jazz and organ funk as the Scone Cash Players.
On his own Joshua was writing Latin soul as the Beholders. That project's second single, "I Don’t Care," turned that funk organ into a funereal lament; Joshua kept his voice at a sheepish whisper to a squeaky boyish falsetto that compliments the rebellious love song.
His reputation in the scene traveled. When Roth founded Penrose Recordings, Jason Joshua contributed to the label's early wave of singles with "Language of Love" b/w "La Vida Es Fría" and "Se Acabó" b/w Penrose Scholars’ "La Mariposa." And much like the sweet soul classics coveted by the Chicano collectors, prices for these 45s are climbing in the second hand market.\
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Mango Hill Records has also released albums by L.A. groups such as the Altons and Trish Toledo, as well as Las Vegas' Johnny Ruiz & The Escapers. It also recently introduced a new voice to the sweet soul scene in Boston-born, San Diego-based singer and multi-instrumentalist Camden., who’s "(You Know You) Hurt Me" 45 in 2024 produced by Joshua deserves acknowledgment in this essentials list.
True to the amateurism of the classic sweet soul groups, Thee Lakesiders were two twenty-something Angelinos who Big Crown flew out for their first-ever studio session. With Big Crown co-founder and El Michels Affair mastermind Leon Michels behind the boards and The Shacks as their backing band, Thee Lakesiders recorded a Los Terricolas cover and a self-penned B-side.
Learn more: Behind Leon Michels' Hits: From Working With The Carters & Aloe Blacc, To Creating Clairo's New Album
Big Crown likely expected the funky propulsion of the "Si Me Faltaras Tu" cover would resonate with their fans who’d come to view the Brooklyn-based label as the heir apparent to Daptone in 2018. But, on the heels of an extensive Sunny & The Sunliners retrospective compilation, "Parachute" by Thee Lakersiders, with its music video that features the young couple, him in pachuco attire and her with a la pachuca bouffant, walking along the iconic Los Angeles River, garnered over 16 million views on Youtube. The first two pressings of this 45 record sold out faster than the label could get it to distributors.
Big Crown co-founder Danny Akelepse told Bandcamp Daily in 2020 that "This is the only thing they’ve ever recorded and I believe this is the only thing they ever will record. As far as I know, they’ve now broken up as a group." However, the group snuck another single under the radar in 2021 on Mango Hill Records with the "Can’t Fool Me Twice" b/w "Show Me Love" featuring production from Jason Joshua and Joey Quiñones.
Once again intentionally tucked on the B-side to the "Morning In America" single, "Cruising To The Park" found Durand Jones and the Indications offering up one for the lowriders out West. Guided by a toyish vibraphone melody and Frazer’s falsetto, "Cruising To The Park" hit all the essentials of taking your lover on a joy ride with lyrics like "slow it down to five / on an endless drive, let’s go out."
The single was reissued again in 2021, this time the original remained the B-side, but the A-side beefed up the Latin soul flavor by collaborating with Y La Bamba to reimagine the sweet soul single as "Cruisin’ To The Parque."
San Diego trio Thee Sacred Souls are responsible for perhaps the biggest sweet soul hit of the modern era. Josh Lane’s silky voice drives the ballad, but when he tells the listener he’s heard a message from the universe, it sets off a lilting bridge of group vocals offering mantric chants of "put it in a love song" that makes the song undeniably catchy. The song went viral during the pandemic and currently has over 150 million plays on Spotify.
Thee Sacred Souls’ "Can I Call You Rose?" started as a 30 second demo posted to the group’s Instagram. A friend from the band With Strangers knew Gabe Roth and put the clip on the Penrose founder’s radar. Things escalated quickly from there. Thee Sacred Souls’ drummer Alex Garcia and bassist Sal Samano had been studying Chicano soul and buying records from local record store Soul Shack to inform their sound, but getting in the studio with Roth raised the bar.\
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Read more: Thee Sacred Souls' Self-Titled Debut Is A Sweet Soul Love Story
"I think people like Gabe want to see people who are self-sufficient enough to have ideas and cut demos on their own so that he can work faster and get right to the heart of the idea," Lane told GRAMMY.com in 2022. " I think he heard all that."
The trio continued to mine their soul knowledge via 2024's Got A Story To Tell, which found the San Diego boys testing new tempos and production flourishes that made songs like "Live For You" feel like What’s Goin’ On-era Marvin Gaye. Released in May 2025, "We Don’t Have To Be Alone" turned the dial back towards their sweet soul origins.
There was hardly anything slow nor sweet about the Altons prior to getting in the studio with Roth. Magically, the group transformed from soul rock with hints of psychedelic surf rock into slow song sweethearts. Perhaps it also had a little to do with sharing members with Thee Sinseers.
As a true East L.A. band, the Altons mix English and Spanish into their songwriting, true to their Chicano roots and fans, which leads to tejano-kissed duets between lead singers Adriana Flores and Brian Ponce. Their Heartache in Room 14 album on Daptone completed the sweet soul transformation and it’s hard to determine whether "Over and Over," an original Penrose 45-inch in 2020, or "Tangled Up In You" will be remembered as their crowning sweet soul entry into the canon. Perhaps they’ll get both.
While most of the modern essentials have been made by younger musicians discovering the sounds of their parents or through record digging, Los Yesterdays were already in their 40s when they signed to Penrose. Members of the group met Roth and former Dap-King Tom Brenneck when the Daptone royalty came to a barbecue they hosted. Based in Altadena, the duo of producer/drummer Gabriel Rowland and singer/songwriter Victor Benavides proudly take up the mantle of Chicano soul.
Coincidentally, another barbeque, this one hosted by Mario C of the Beastie Boys, led to the duo meeting Egon of Now-Again Records who put out their Frozen In Time full length based on a few songs played off Rowland’s phone.
It has to be noted that while it’s not a sweet soul song, their single "Nobody’s Clown" has become a TikTok hit that has garnered the group over 30 million streams.
Although he’s from nearby Rialto, Joey Quiñones has a special attachment to Penrose Recordings in Riverside. In the book It Ain’t Retro by Jessica Lipsky, it’s revealed that he helped Roth build the control room and live studio in Riverside [Editor's note: Jessica Lipsky is a Recording Academy employee.].
Raised among the lowrider soul scene with a history of backing up Brenton Wood and releasing soul music with actor Danny Trejo, Quiñones’ voice feels born for the genre. His squawky embellishments on "What’s His Name?" sounds like the work of a one-off recording, but he’s well-connected as a producer who’s worked with sweet soul artists like Miriah Avila, Jonny Benavidez, and Trish Toledo. Quietly, Quiñones has been a part of the scene as both a solo artist and fronting Thee Sinseers, scattering 45s across the terrain through labels like Colemine Records, which released Thee Sinseers’ Sinseerely Yours in 2024, and Mango Hill Records.
The Indications often go on hiatus between records and tours, allowing their members to explore personal projects outside the group. In 2021 Aaron Frazer released his first solo album Introducing… which he followed up in 2024 with Into The Blue.
On both albums, Frazer guided his music away from the expectations and touchstones of an Indications record with the help of producers Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and Alex Goose. Between those two solo outings he dropped "Bring You A Ring" in 2023, a love song indicating that sweet soul pocket is never far from his mind.