Belong

By the time she released her second Jay Som album, the self-produced Anak Ko, on Polyvinyl in 2019, Melina Duterte was known in indie circles for a lush, dreamy sound that combines bedroom pop cushiness with some alt-rock and post-punk heft. Instead of buckling down on another solo effort, she spent the next several years collaborating on a wide range of indie projects, from her duo with Palehounds El Kempner (Bachelor) and an EP with Justus Proffit to contributing production, engineering, mixing, songwriting, and performances to dozens of other artists recordings and becoming touring bassist for boygenius. It may not come as a surprise, then, that Jay Soms first album in six years, Belong, is a collaborative one. What may be unexpected, though, is that it includes contributions from other producers -- Kyle Pulley (Alex G, Dr. Dog), Steph Marziano (Vundabar, Bartees Strange), Mal Hauser (Illuminati Hotties), and Joao Gonzalez (Soft Glas) -- most of whom also play on the album, along with drummer Madden Klass. Nevertheless, Belong is distinctly of the hazy, levitated Jay Som sound universe, even as she extends further invitations to guests from the emo-pop world. Jimmy Eat Worlds Jim Adkins is featured on the driving "Float," which dresses hooky pop-punk in a thin layer of electronic spackle alongside sighing, pining vocal performances that further offset its grungier textures. Similarly, "Past Lives," featuring Paramores Hayley Williams, manages to merge Dutertes airy, yearning contemplations with Williams more resonant voice and broader range, although both of these songs inhabit the grittier, more dissonant end of the albums sound spectrum. Another track in that class is the euphoric "D.H.," whose expansive atmosphere is flush with noise. On the other extreme are songs like the somnambulant "Appointments," which alternates the line "I dont wanna cry" with "I dont wanna try," and the stripped-back 90-second interlude "A Million Reasons Why," whose pitched-up vocals enter on the words "Bags at the door/Its hard to sleep alone." Despite its recording process, rather than being a celebration of togetherness, Belong is full of lyrics about being on the outside looking in, a perspective that gives context to its skillful mix of angsty and dreamy textures. ~ Marcy Donelson