Turn Into

After writing and sharing songs for a number of years under various pseudonyms dating back to middle school, Bay Area multi-instrumentalist Melina Duterte released this "collection of finished and unfinished songs" in late 2015. She wrote, performed, recorded, and mixed all the songs on the album herself, which by her account were somewhat randomly selected from about three years of material preceding her 22nd birthday. The collection got a proper release in 2016 when Polyvinyl took notice and also signed on for her official -- written to be an album -- debut to follow. The varied set of lush bedroom pop spans shoegazy and brighter, melodic entries, with most falling in a reflective space in between. The former can be found on tracks like "Drown" and "Ghost." "Ghost" has mumbled midrange vocals that float between more melodic, jangly guitar lines, which pile on top of each other for passing moments of disarray. On the poppier end of the spectrum, "Peach Boy" wrangles multiple guitar effects and filtered vocals into a summery treat that begs for windows down and wind in the hair. Mixing the two is pretty much the rest of the album, though each song is distinct. "Next to Me," for instance, is a catchy swirl of rhythmic hooks and shimmer, while "Unlimited Touch" ambles along a measured bassline and sustained synths as she considers: "I think I need a break/My head sticks out of place/I need to take a walk/I'll sleep when morning comes." Word of mouth and Internet buzz about these tunes led to opening spots on tours for acts including Mitski and Honeyblood while Duterte went to work on her debut for Polyvinyl. Likely to appeal to admirers of similarly discovered lo-fi artists like Alex G and Elvis Depressedly, Turn Into marks Jay Som as an act to watch for fans of the style. ~ Marcy Donelson