Sydney’s Enmore Theatre, with its architectural features and panelled glass, felt like it was built just to house a voice like Jalen Ngonda.
Jalen walked onto the stage at 9pm sharp and opened with That’s All I Wanted From You, his smooth falsetto climbing to the ceilings before sliding into Anyone In Love. We’re suspended somewhere between Jalen’s melodic sound and the amber glow of the stage lights, settling in for an evening of soul. He touched on his latest record, Doctrine of Love, but it was the tracks from his debut album Come Around and Love Me that formed the the night’s setlist. Taking a casual sip of his beer, Jalen announced ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we’re just pulling the car out of the driveway,’ and suddenly we were all in the passenger seat.
Growing up in Wheaton, Maryland, you’d be mistaken for thinking his music came fresh out of a big city like Chicago or Atlanta. Instead, it was Liverpool, England where Jalen moved to study at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) that helped him embrace his raw, Northern soul.
If you listen closely, you can hear the ghosts of The Temptations and the Beach Boys filtered through his songs, yet Jalen has breathed a modern era into the genre. On stage, there were no flashy costumes, just Ngonda, a myriad of instruments, backed by his band that embrace heavy grooving sections and that smooth voice.
He’s a man of few words, but where he refrained from speaking, he made up for in sheer vocal presence. Listen to any of Ngonda’s tracks and his talent is clear. But live? It’s pure cinema.
Earlier in the evening, we were treated to Melbourne based singer Shannon Bushch (WILSN), who graced the stage with her soul-loving, powerhouse vocals. She was the perfect complement to warm the audience for Ngonda’s set, and played several songs from her recently released album, Bloom. We’ll be seeing Bushch on our radar again very soon, with her headlining the Enmore later this year in May.
We said goodbye to the band briefly while Jalen switched to an intimate keyboard session. With the rhythm stripped back, his vocal range truly shone. In the quieter moments, he played two tracks from his debut album that took on a new, honeyed warmth – with the kind of 1960s and ’70s stripped back soul that is reminiscent of his music.
The band rejoined him for Hannah, What’s The Matter?, a catchy, unreleased single that Sydney was lucky to be among the first to hear. The intro had a Hannah or two in the audience squeal with joy, followed by So Glad I Found You. The evening finished with that iconic, rolling drum intro of If You Don’t Want My Love. It was a 75-minute set that felt like fifteen.
The next time Jalen Ngonda returns to Aussie shores, he won’t be playing theatres like this, he’ll be returning to play for the masses.
-Caitlin
When she’s not globetrotting Caitlin Martin loves to scope out Sydney’s hidden gems, with a camera and soy cap in hand.
The Plus Ones were invited guests of Morse Code Publicity.
