For those who maintain that soul’s golden era lay between the mid-60s and mid-70s, Brooklyn’s Daptone label is a tremendous 21st-century boon. The home of the Dap-Kings has spent more than 20 years releasing music by overlooked soul talents, alongside lending that band’s considerable heft to Amy Winehouse, St Vincent and Mark Ronson among others. Now that time has taken away Daptone legends such as Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley, it’s important that the label finds new voices to fill its immaculately assembled revivalist roster. So welcome 28-year-old Jalen Ngonda (or N’Gonda), an east coast American singer-songwriter who moved to Liverpool nearly a decade ago to study at the city’s Institute for Performing Arts and has been recording and performing ever since. Thanks to Daptone, the long-promising Ngonda has completed his debut album, Come Around and Love Me.
It’s stunning. Some may dismiss it as too derivative of David Ruffin’s tone, or Marvin Gaye’s range, from delicate falsetto down the octaves, but they won’t be able to deny how insanely listenable it is. It’s a glorious tour around that golden era, encompassing its doo-wop and R&B origins as well as a smattering of rockier or psych-tinged material, all with killer choruses. At the centre of it all are Jalen’s supple, emotion-racked vocals, which are sensational, whether querulously passionate on That’s All I Wanted from You or gorgeously drifting through Lost. An intimate winter tour is already sold out, but he’ll surely be back on bigger stages soon.
Come Around and Love Me is out now on Daptone. Jalen Ngonda tours the UK 1-7 November
