I’m not sure if anyone can relate, but for the last couple of months, I have had this man with the voice of an angel all over my Instagram Reels. After going through a slight obsession with his last album, “Easy On My Eyes,” let’s just say that I couldn’t have been more excited for this next one to drop. On Friday, September 22, Stephen Sanchez released his long-awaited 13-track album, “Angel Face,” a culmination of different eras and sounds of music that came together to make what can only be considered a work of art. Due to Sanchez’s ability to sing to perfection such a vast range of notes and styles of music along with his lyrical genius, this album has something for everyone.
As expected, I have also fallen into an obsession with this album, but if I went into every little detail I found to be absolutely magnificent, we’d be here for a while, so I’ll refrain and give you a summary of my favorite songs along with some honorable mentions.
“Evangeline”
In my personal opinion, the first five tracks of this album are the best ones due to the beauty of both the lyrics and vocals. Throughout this album, Stephen describes different kinds of love which is truly amazing because there are so many ways that people love one another and he offers a song for pretty much anyone. With that, my favorite song on the album was “Evangeline” due to how much I relate to wanting the kind of love that is described.
This song goes into detail about a love that is built up over time and created through feelings of comfort and safety which, in my opinion, is much more likely to last because it is a relationship that has time behind it. When you get to truly know someone and not rush into something, that is where the real meaning of love begins. Having the ability to find comfort in another person and desire to be that comfort for someone else is something really special.
In the first verse, Sanchez says that he’ll wait as long as he needs to because he just wants to be around, and in the chorus of this song Sanchez describes how he would be the pillow and bed for this girl to rest in.
Also, the second verse goes hard and perfectly describes the want to just know and stop guessing if there’s something between you and another person because you’ve gotten to a level where you are willing to wait but wouldn’t mind if it ended because you can already feel yourself falling in love.
I’d be lying if I said this song immediately stood out to me, but after giving it a few listens, I can confidently say that it takes the cake. This man just has such a way with words.
“Be More”
Now, I have this one at second because in my first listen of the album in its entirety, this song caught my attention right off the bat. It’s lulling verses and instrumentals are so beautiful and the words that go with it are just as amazing and match the vibe so well. Then when Sanchez crescendoes into a heartfelt and yearning sound, you can literally feel your heart and mind build with the music. Sanchez also hits an extremely impressive note at one point in this song, and you have to give it a listen just for that note alone.
This song describes a love that happens quickly and is filled with passion for the other. It’s a song about being unable to wait for another second to fall into love because you’re feelings are just so strong for the other person. This song perfectly depicts the love that is in the movies where a guy sees a girl and it’s love at first sight. They very quickly get into a relationship and it’s pure love. It could be compared to the honeymoon phase when you are so entranced with the other person that you ignore their flaws and only see them as someone you want to profess your undying love to.
That aside, I never said I hated the generic rom-com plot, so this song will continue to rank high on my list for all of eternity.
“I Need You Most of All”
This song is one of longing. It describes a desire to have someone more than life itself even though that is so cheesy and cringey. I personally found the combination of the sweet lyrics and Stephen’s dreamy voice along with yet another beautiful high note to be sensational and something that I will always remember because the serotonin I get listening to it is above average.
The main line goes, “I just need your arms and permission to fall; for I need you most of all.” The thought that someone could ever think this about a girl is what gives me hope in any future romance I might have, and you can bet that I will most definitely not be lowering any standards after listening to this.
“Something about Her”
I think this song so easily tells of the fear that you might feel at the prospect of having deep feelings for someone. You know there’s something special about them and that scares you because it’s hard not to believe that you could mess it up. Stephen describes how he is feeling these strong feelings and it scares and excites him at the same time. He wants to get to know her and fall in love with her, but at the same time, he’s terrified of getting his heart broken.
Also, he has this angelic tone he uses in this song that he weaves into other songs but he maintains it throughout this entire song, and I just love it.
It could just be the soft vibrato but when you combine that with the lyrics and instrumentals it brings about an innocent feeling that can be difficult to understand sometimes because the love is so innocent yet you see it as something that can also be so evil if it doesn’t end the way you’d like.
“Only Girl”
This song is a tad bit different from the other four songs I chose as my favorites, but it very much fits with the same lyrics theme. It’s about a boy who wants a girl to be his and he will do anything to make it so because he’s never felt this way with anyone else before. He wants all of her and he wants to give her all of him.
This one is a little more upbeat in comparison to the others which is a good contrast that brings a happier feeling to what love is.
Honorable Mentions
In the song “High,” Stephen hits this absolutely monstrous high note that echoes and it’s so good paired with the electric guitar solo type thing.
“Send My Heart with a Kiss” is such a cute song that is the peak of what you imagine love as a child.
Another high note gets hit in the song “Doesn’t Do Me Any Good” which makes me not just like but love the song and might be one of the only reasons I listen to that song in general.
“Until I Found You” might be basic because it’s been overplayed, but I will stand by how beautiful the lyrics are until the day that I die.
I don’t know how much I actually like the song “Shake,” but it reminds me of Elvis Presley, so I’ll let it be.
With that, you have been gifted with my uncensored thoughts on this work of art, and if you’d like to have a civil discussion arguing anything against this album, don’t come to me because it will indeed not be civil:)