JALED NGONDA - Doctrine Of Love

Terms like retro and vintage aren't a problem for Jalen Ngonda. The Maryland-born, England-based soul singer makes records that reveal themselves as potential sliding doors into the soul music of the 60s and 70s. "Doctrine Of Love" is his second album.

Ngonda is an artist passionately attentive and devoted to the early Tamla Motown productions; in particular, to those of the young Marvin Gaye, before the turning point of "What's Going On", or the early Temptations. Released by Daptone, his new record is another showcase of potential new classics built on already familiar models, a collection of ten songs that keep predictability in check while unabashedly and unashamedly evoking hit songs of the past.
It doesn't matter that a track like "Taken Out Of The Picture" ticks all the boxes of the Supremes' classics, or that the title track sounds like it could have come off a Womack family record or from the most sensual side of James Brown. The attention to detail, the skilled songwriting, and the elegant execution—never lacking in authentic soul flair—are enough to hail "Doctrine Of Love" as a successful album with deliberately déjà-vu tones.

It's no coincidence that artists like Elton John, Snoop Dogg and Gorillaz (whose "The Mountain" features Jalen as a guest) have praised his talent. The 60s soul lightness of "Mr Train Conductor" and the gripping, red-hot soul/r&b of "Burning Temptation" are so irresistible that even a power metal fan will struggle to resist an unexpected sway of the hips.
Prone to a naïve romanticism, Jalen Ngonda draws on Burt Bacharach's strategies for the album's tenderest moments ("Anyone In Love" and "Love Is Gone"), pulls out all the magic of early swaying 50s love songs on the charming "Good Good Love", and hints at a light rock contamination on the excellent "I Can't Ever Leave You". On the latter, he shifts his vocal register into a raw soul-blues, crafting a song that wouldn't have looked out of place in Janis Joplin's repertoire.

For a record like "Doctrine Of Love", which makes lightness its greatest weapon, the main risk was falling victim to apparent superficiality. The real strength of Jalen Ngonda's second album lies instead in the quality of the songwriting and the intelligence of the arrangements: qualities that enhance and elevate its deliberately retro charm.

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10/07/2026