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It’s hard enough to sustain the fairy tale success Texas’ Los Lonely Boys had with their self-titled first album and its monster, Grammy-winning hit, “Heaven.” Harder still when ill-timed arrests—legit or not—taint public opinion enough to help sink the band's follow-up effort. But Forgiven, the band's third record, won’t fulfill the Texas trio’s quest to regain its lost career footing, which is a shame, because it still shows glimmers of the talent that originally lifted the Boys to multi-platinum status.

Then again, that’s precisely the problem.

Forgiven has bits and pieces, like a bunch of base hits, but not even one song possessing homer status, much less a grand slam like “Heaven.” The first single, “Staying With Me,” has the hook, with great harmonies on the chorus and some soaring, soulful guitar work by eldest Boy Henry Garza. Like most of these songs, it just doesn’t sustain the good parts all the way through. “Superman” and “Another Broken Heart” share similar shortcomings; if they were tightened and tweaked enough, they could be far better songs than they are. Elsewhere, “Superman” marks drummer Ringo Garza’s lead-singing debut; he should get more chances.

Despite the highlights, it would take major doctoring to cure the weak lyrics that permeate nearly all of these songs (the Spencer Davis Group cover, “I’m a Man,” notwithstanding). No one said blues tunes had to be marvels of intellectual stimulation, but they do need to grab you, not make you groan (I'll spare you examples). Los Lonely Boys come from a region rich in songwriting talent; it’s time for them to recruit some pinch-hitters.

Two years and one stopgap live album after “Heaven” turned them into Grammy-winning stars, brothers Henry, Jojo and Ringo Garza return with the solid, if not spectacular, Sacred. The new album doesn’t have anything with the across-the-board appeal of “Heaven” (though the Southern-rockin’ “Diamonds” comes close), but it doesn’t have any duds either. What Sacred does have, though, is 13 tracks of soulful blues-rock, highlighted by Henry Garza’s funky, sultry guitar playing. Sacred is better the further it gets from the blues. The groovy “Roses” could be a lost outtake from a late-’60s Santana album; “Texican Style” sounds like some classic soul side’s conjunto cousin; and “Outlaws” smokes like Jimi. The album isn’t a quantum leap forward for the Boys, whose first two proper albums have them well on their way to creating a Texican Rock ’n’ Soul they can call their own, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Starting Sep. 16, Los Lonely Boys will take to the road for a series of dates that will keep the band busy through December. Included during the trek will be an appearance at Farm Aid (alongside Neil Young, Dave Matthews and Wilco, amongst others) as well as three nights opening for the Rolling Stones.

For more information, including tour dates, visit the Los Lonely Boys official site.