Doctrine Of Love
Jalen N'Gonda
Doctrine of Love is the second studio album by Maryland-born, Liverpool-based soul singer Jalen N'Gonda, released on 5 June 2026 via Daptone Records. It follows his critically acclaimed 2023 debut Come Around and Love Me, which accumulated over 348 million streams and established him as one of the most exciting voices in contemporary soul. Where the debut drew on the early 1970s warmth of Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, Doctrine of Love reaches back further — to roughly 1968 and earlier — blending mid-1950s New Orleans R&B, girl-group melodrama, folk-rock shimmer, doo-wop, and the raw grit of Chicago and Detroit soul into a cohesive and richly orchestrated 10-track, 30-minute set. The album's central thesis, as N'Gonda articulates it, is that "love is the highest measure of human worth," and every arrangement — produced again by Daptone stalwarts Vince Chiarito and Mike Buckley — is built around that conviction.
The album opens with the strings-laden "Anyone in Love" and moves through the swaggering title track (inspired by a James Brown listening session in the studio), the funk-laced pleading of "Mr. Train Conductor," heartbreak ballads like "Love Is Gone" and "I Can't Ever Leave You," the swooning 1950s throwback "Good Good Love," and a Diana Ross-style closer in "Taken Out of the Picture." Reviewers consistently highlighted N'Gonda's soaring falsetto — described as fluctuating between Michael Jackson, Babyface, and Tina Turner — as the album's defining instrument, with the production pushing past the orchestral sweep of the debut toward something funkier and rawer, with prominent horns and gospel-kissed background vocals. N'Gonda supported the record with an extensive 2026 touring schedule across Australia, the UK, and Europe, including festival appearances at Love Supreme, North Sea Jazz, and Glastonbury, and a headline UK run concluding at London's O2 Academy Brixton.
Doctrine of Love is the second studio album by Maryland-born, Liverpool-based soul singer Jalen N'Gonda, released on 5 June 2026 via Daptone Records. It follows his critically acclaimed 2023 debut Come Around and Love Me, which accumulated over 348 million streams and established him as one of the most exciting voices in contemporary soul. Where the debut drew on the early 1970s warmth of Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, Doctrine of Love reaches back further — to roughly 1968 and earlier — blending mid-1950s New Orleans R&B, girl-group melodrama, folk-rock shimmer, doo-wop, and the raw grit of Chicago and Detroit soul into a cohesive and richly orchestrated 10-track, 30-minute set. The album's central thesis, as N'Gonda articulates it, is that "love is the highest measure of human worth," and every arrangement — produced again by Daptone stalwarts Vince Chiarito and Mike Buckley — is built around that conviction.
The album opens with the strings-laden "Anyone in Love" and moves through the swaggering title track (inspired by a James Brown listening session in the studio), the funk-laced pleading of "Mr. Train Conductor," heartbreak ballads like "Love Is Gone" and "I Can't Ever Leave You," the swooning 1950s throwback "Good Good Love," and a Diana Ross-style closer in "Taken Out of the Picture." Reviewers consistently highlighted N'Gonda's soaring falsetto — described as fluctuating between Michael Jackson, Babyface, and Tina Turner — as the album's defining instrument, with the production pushing past the orchestral sweep of the debut toward something funkier and rawer, with prominent horns and gospel-kissed background vocals. N'Gonda supported the record with an extensive 2026 touring schedule across Australia, the UK, and Europe, including festival appearances at Love Supreme, North Sea Jazz, and Glastonbury, and a headline UK run concluding at London's O2 Academy Brixton.
Doctrine of Love is the second studio album by Maryland-born, Liverpool-based soul singer Jalen N'Gonda, released on 5 June 2026 via Daptone Records. It follows his critically acclaimed 2023 debut Come Around and Love Me, which accumulated over 348 million streams and established him as one of the most exciting voices in contemporary soul. Where the debut drew on the early 1970s warmth of Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, Doctrine of Love reaches back further — to roughly 1968 and earlier — blending mid-1950s New Orleans R&B, girl-group melodrama, folk-rock shimmer, doo-wop, and the raw grit of Chicago and Detroit soul into a cohesive and richly orchestrated 10-track, 30-minute set. The album's central thesis, as N'Gonda articulates it, is that "love is the highest measure of human worth," and every arrangement — produced again by Daptone stalwarts Vince Chiarito and Mike Buckley — is built around that conviction.
The album opens with the strings-laden "Anyone in Love" and moves through the swaggering title track (inspired by a James Brown listening session in the studio), the funk-laced pleading of "Mr. Train Conductor," heartbreak ballads like "Love Is Gone" and "I Can't Ever Leave You," the swooning 1950s throwback "Good Good Love," and a Diana Ross-style closer in "Taken Out of the Picture." Reviewers consistently highlighted N'Gonda's soaring falsetto — described as fluctuating between Michael Jackson, Babyface, and Tina Turner — as the album's defining instrument, with the production pushing past the orchestral sweep of the debut toward something funkier and rawer, with prominent horns and gospel-kissed background vocals. N'Gonda supported the record with an extensive 2026 touring schedule across Australia, the UK, and Europe, including festival appearances at Love Supreme, North Sea Jazz, and Glastonbury, and a headline UK run concluding at London's O2 Academy Brixton.
Doctrine Of Love
Jalen N'Gonda
Doctrine of Love is the second studio album by Maryland-born, Liverpool-based soul singer Jalen N'Gonda, released on 5 June 2026 via Daptone Records. It follows his critically acclaimed 2023 debut Come Around and Love Me, which accumulated over 348 million streams and established him as one of the most exciting voices in contemporary soul. Where the debut drew on the early 1970s warmth of Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, Doctrine of Love reaches back further — to roughly 1968 and earlier — blending mid-1950s New Orleans R&B, girl-group melodrama, folk-rock shimmer, doo-wop, and the raw grit of Chicago and Detroit soul into a cohesive and richly orchestrated 10-track, 30-minute set. The album's central thesis, as N'Gonda articulates it, is that "love is the highest measure of human worth," and every arrangement — produced again by Daptone stalwarts Vince Chiarito and Mike Buckley — is built around that conviction.
The album opens with the strings-laden "Anyone in Love" and moves through the swaggering title track (inspired by a James Brown listening session in the studio), the funk-laced pleading of "Mr. Train Conductor," heartbreak ballads like "Love Is Gone" and "I Can't Ever Leave You," the swooning 1950s throwback "Good Good Love," and a Diana Ross-style closer in "Taken Out of the Picture." Reviewers consistently highlighted N'Gonda's soaring falsetto — described as fluctuating between Michael Jackson, Babyface, and Tina Turner — as the album's defining instrument, with the production pushing past the orchestral sweep of the debut toward something funkier and rawer, with prominent horns and gospel-kissed background vocals. N'Gonda supported the record with an extensive 2026 touring schedule across Australia, the UK, and Europe, including festival appearances at Love Supreme, North Sea Jazz, and Glastonbury, and a headline UK run concluding at London's O2 Academy Brixton.
Doctrine of Love is the second studio album by Maryland-born, Liverpool-based soul singer Jalen N'Gonda, released on 5 June 2026 via Daptone Records. It follows his critically acclaimed 2023 debut Come Around and Love Me, which accumulated over 348 million streams and established him as one of the most exciting voices in contemporary soul. Where the debut drew on the early 1970s warmth of Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, Doctrine of Love reaches back further — to roughly 1968 and earlier — blending mid-1950s New Orleans R&B, girl-group melodrama, folk-rock shimmer, doo-wop, and the raw grit of Chicago and Detroit soul into a cohesive and richly orchestrated 10-track, 30-minute set. The album's central thesis, as N'Gonda articulates it, is that "love is the highest measure of human worth," and every arrangement — produced again by Daptone stalwarts Vince Chiarito and Mike Buckley — is built around that conviction.
The album opens with the strings-laden "Anyone in Love" and moves through the swaggering title track (inspired by a James Brown listening session in the studio), the funk-laced pleading of "Mr. Train Conductor," heartbreak ballads like "Love Is Gone" and "I Can't Ever Leave You," the swooning 1950s throwback "Good Good Love," and a Diana Ross-style closer in "Taken Out of the Picture." Reviewers consistently highlighted N'Gonda's soaring falsetto — described as fluctuating between Michael Jackson, Babyface, and Tina Turner — as the album's defining instrument, with the production pushing past the orchestral sweep of the debut toward something funkier and rawer, with prominent horns and gospel-kissed background vocals. N'Gonda supported the record with an extensive 2026 touring schedule across Australia, the UK, and Europe, including festival appearances at Love Supreme, North Sea Jazz, and Glastonbury, and a headline UK run concluding at London's O2 Academy Brixton.
Doctrine of Love is the second studio album by Maryland-born, Liverpool-based soul singer Jalen N'Gonda, released on 5 June 2026 via Daptone Records. It follows his critically acclaimed 2023 debut Come Around and Love Me, which accumulated over 348 million streams and established him as one of the most exciting voices in contemporary soul. Where the debut drew on the early 1970s warmth of Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, Doctrine of Love reaches back further — to roughly 1968 and earlier — blending mid-1950s New Orleans R&B, girl-group melodrama, folk-rock shimmer, doo-wop, and the raw grit of Chicago and Detroit soul into a cohesive and richly orchestrated 10-track, 30-minute set. The album's central thesis, as N'Gonda articulates it, is that "love is the highest measure of human worth," and every arrangement — produced again by Daptone stalwarts Vince Chiarito and Mike Buckley — is built around that conviction.
The album opens with the strings-laden "Anyone in Love" and moves through the swaggering title track (inspired by a James Brown listening session in the studio), the funk-laced pleading of "Mr. Train Conductor," heartbreak ballads like "Love Is Gone" and "I Can't Ever Leave You," the swooning 1950s throwback "Good Good Love," and a Diana Ross-style closer in "Taken Out of the Picture." Reviewers consistently highlighted N'Gonda's soaring falsetto — described as fluctuating between Michael Jackson, Babyface, and Tina Turner — as the album's defining instrument, with the production pushing past the orchestral sweep of the debut toward something funkier and rawer, with prominent horns and gospel-kissed background vocals. N'Gonda supported the record with an extensive 2026 touring schedule across Australia, the UK, and Europe, including festival appearances at Love Supreme, North Sea Jazz, and Glastonbury, and a headline UK run concluding at London's O2 Academy Brixton.