Dinner Music 97: The weekly lineup
midnight groove, soul heavy, acid psych rock
This week we’re listening to soul and psych-rock (and folk), sounds that largely dominated two different sides of the United States, both literally and spiritually.
We begin with a blend of deep house, soul and disco from UK-native Trus’me. If you like deep sounds, boogie and dancing, don’t miss this album. The real instrumentation sets this album apart from traditional house music, which is sample heavy, and gives the sound a grit and edge that brings out a smokey, groovy feel in every track. We move into neo-soul with newcomer Jalen Ngonda, a voice so disarming you can’t help but just listen. Come Around and Love Me is Ngonda’s debut and is brimming with good feeling — bright vocals, uptempo arrangement. The tracks dip in and out of ballad-esque soul tracks, through boogie and afro-funk, and bring to mind Leon Bridges. We take it back to the sixties with Strawberry Alarm Clock, a niche, yet pivotal, psych-rock band out of California, whose sound brings the sonic aura of “Summer of Love” out with every song, but particularly with the title track, which plays with genre and gives it a sense of slipperiness, or haziness, like a good trip. You almost certainly know “Sweet Soul Music,” an absolutely iconic soul track that shows up in movies, TV shows, on playlists, on the radio, etc. Arthur Conley could’ve been huge in the US — but wasn’t. He moved to Europe early in his careers, first to the UK then Belgium, before settling in the Netherlands and changing his name to Lee Conley. Why? He wanted to live in peace, and live his life, as an openly gay man, something he couldn’t do in the US, especially in the music industry at the time. More Sweet Soul is especially sweet, a treat from one of the greats that the US didn’t know it had. We end with Dick Stusso, an all-time favorite of mine.
Enjoy.
Monday
In the Red - Trus'me (2009)
Bandcamp / Spotify / YouTube / Other streaming services
Tuesday
Come Around and Love Me - Jalen Ngonda (2023)
Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Wednesday
Incense and Peppermints - Strawberry Alarm Clock (1967)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Thursday
More Sweet Soul - Arthur Conley (1969)
Spotify / YouTube / Other streaming services
Friday
Nashville Dreams / Sings the Blues - Dick Stusso (2015)
Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Pair with
Roast chicken. A perfect entree.
California Sparkling Wine. Goes with everything.
A trip to Bar Part Time in SF. Natural wine, left-field grooves. It’s a really great spot. Is it full of trendy people? Yes. Is it a little bit scene-y? Yes. But, they are doing something good and right in my opinion! They play Billy Idol here!
A copy of Synth History magazine. Here’s a fun piece from a few years ago on what Weyes Blood recommends.
The japanese streetwear subreddit. And if you’re in Santa Fe, Berkeley or NYC, a trip to Standard and Strange.
Thank you, thank you. Have a great week.