Jalen Ngonda is a Daptone recording artist who grew up just outside of Washington D.C. bur currently lives in the UK. At the age of 11 his father introduced him to the joys of soul music, most notably Motown, setting him on the path to where he is today.
His debut album Come Around And Love Me is sometime in the offing after a series of singles – “Holler (When You Call My Name)” (2016), “Why I Try” (2017), “I Guess That Makes Me A Loser” and “Talking About Mary” (2018), as well as two singles from the album – but has benefited from this gestation period as it is an impressive, mature collection.
There’s a healthy sense of community exemplified by the energetic “Rapture” and the title track, which certainly recall Motown – particularly Marvin Gaye. All songs were co-written by Ngonda, and the album features some fine ensemble playing from an impressive band (Benny Trokan on guitar, Brian Wolfe on drums, Elizabeth Pupo-Walker on percussion, Liann Cline on harp, Victor Axelrod on piano and producers Vincent Chiarito on bass and Michael Buckley on vibraphone, glockenspiel, saxophone and flute).
Between them they mine a rich seem of romantic drama through a crafty focus on the detail – an insistent piano line on “That’s All I Wanted From You”, a light guitar riff on the breezy jaunt on “Give Me Another Day”, a swooning saxophone on “Just Like You Used To”, and spooky nerve on “It Takes A Fool”. Angelic backing vocals by Charly Kay, Kelly Wolfgramm, Kevin Keys and Saundra Williams enhance Ngonda’s soaring vocals, especially to great effect on the heartbreak of “Please Show Me” and lover’s heaven of “What A Difference She Made” and “So Glad I Found You”.
Sweeping strings from Melody Giron, Molly Goldman, Sarah Koenig-Plonskier and Sita Chay arranged by Michael Buckley form the backdrop of this memorable album’s distinct world, with Ngonda effortlessly leading us through alternating worlds of suffering and comfort on “Lost”, and taking inspiration from rejection on the uplifting “If You Don’t Want My Love”.
Note: vinyl variants include: clear/black splatter (two tone splatter), purple, pink/blue split with alternative cover (Dinked edition), pink/blue splatter (cotton candy splatter) and orange creamsicle (Club edition)
Label: Daptone Records
Release Date: 08 SEP 2023
Poetic Justice 