Jay Som

Melina Duterte’s dream-pop songs hint at a universe of her own creation. Recording as Jay Som since 2015, her world of shy, swirling intimacies always contains a disarming ease, a sky-bent sparkle and a grounding indie-rock humility. In the wake of her 2017 breakout, Everybody Works, she left the Bay Area for Los Angeles, and wrote most of her new album, Anak Ko, during a week-long solo retreat to Joshua Tree. Inspired by ’80s pop and the ecstatic guitar work of contemporary Vancouver band Weed, Anak Ko delivers a refreshingly precise sound. The album title, Tagalog for “my child,” comes from a text message from Duterte’s mother: “Hi anak ko, I love you anak ko.” The album is suffused with that sense of care, and the importance of patience and kindness.