Though Come Around and Love Me may be Jalen Ngonda’s debut full-length, the DC-born musician has been cutting his teeth in the industry since he was a teenager. He began writing songs at 14 years old, taking inspiration from 20th century artists in the R&B canon, Motown records he discovered from his father’s collection, and classic pop songs from artists like The Beatles and The Beach Boys. Ngonda eventually got his opportunity to cut a record after a Jools Holland show he performed at was attended by Daptone co-founder Neal Sugarman, but the pandemic put those plans by the wayside.
Now, Come Around and Love Me is finally here, and Ngonda brings a sense of smooth urgency to his debut. The album is filled with gorgeous melodies that evoke the sublime spirit of ’70s soul. Now based in London, Ngonda channels the heroes of past generations to offer up a stellar, modern take on classic sounds.
Here, Ngonda walks us through the songs that make up his debut.
1. “Come Around and Love Me”
This is one of the first songs I wrote with Vince [Chiarito] and Mike [Buckley]. It’s very influenced by Marvin Gaye, Gamble and Huff—that Philly sound. We thought about that a lot when writing. I didn’t really think much of the lyrics, I was focused more on the sound and the melody. Overall we were thinking about sort of the “What’s Going On” vibe when we wrote it.
2. “If You Don’t Want My Love”
This one originally started with [guitarist] Ben Trokan. He came into the studio to work on the album with an idea, which is the chords you hear in the verse. We worked around those chords and then I came up with the chorus, and that combo became “If You Don’t Want My Love.” I was trying to paint a story starting out with “In this night starry sky,” trying to create a setting. The words just floated on after that.
3. “Lost”
“Lost” started with Mike. He was playing the verse chords, only faster. We played around with it for a little while before I suggested we slow it down. I came up with the chords and chorus and much of the bridge. That night I wrote the lyrics and came back the next day to make the demo. It’s really just your classic heartbreak song. This happens to be one of my favorite songs on the album along with “Come Around and Love Me” and “So Glad I Found You.”
4. “That’s All I Wanted From You”
Vince and Mike came in with a demo of the backing track for this one. It was very much the same as what you hear on the record. I didn’t compose much of the instrumentation, I came up with the lyrics mostly. The song is about not needing much else in a relationship apart from love.
5. “Please Show Me”
We came up with “Please Show Me” all together—Benny, Michael, Vince, and I. Vince came up with the bass notes. I took a crack at some of the chords, but this one was very much a group effort. It’s sort of about when you’re in that low point of heartbreak: Post-breakup, wanting to go back to the person you love, feeling disoriented.
6. “Just Like You Used To”
I wrote this before I signed to Daptone. I wrote it with my friend Sam Knowles in London. Just something we wrote with simple lyrics and doo-wop-y harmonies.
7. “What a Difference She Made”
I wrote this one with Sam as well, the same week as “Just Like You Used To.” It was very influenced by The Impressions and Curtis Mayfield. I wanted to write it like a story about someone who happens to be an astonishing person who made a difference in the narrator’s life.
8. “Give Me Another Day”
This song was written in a similar way as “Please Show Me”—another group effort. I went away and wrote the lyrics that night. It’s a love-at-first-sight kind of song. It expresses how the protagonist is yearning to have another day with that person after meeting them.
9. “So Glad I Found You”
Vince, Mike, and I were talking about how much we wanted to explore this sort of Billy Stewart sound, and also some of that Gene Chandler sound. Lyrically it’s pretty simple: being so glad your significant other is in your life.
10. “It Takes a Fool”
This is the first song I wrote with Mike and Vince. We were trying out ideas for a couple days, but a few songs we worked on didn’t really fit. When we wrote “It Takes a Fool,” that’s when we found our chemistry. This song is also very simple lyrically: It’s about how someone’s love is so good it would be foolish to walk away from it, as heard in the chorus.
11. “Rapture”
Another song I wrote with Sam in that same week. It started with Sam playing a northern soul, four-to-floor kind of beat on the drums. Lyrically it’s about a person being so in love with someone, but they kind of want to be free, and this person in question has a sort of hold on them. It was just a lot of playing with rhymes.
