Melina Duterte—known worldwide as Jay Som—is still riding high on the wave of her sophomore LP, Everybody Works, on which she wrote and recorded every instrument (including trumpet and accordion) and released over a year ago. The Polyvinyl signee, Tiny Desk alum, US Heatseeker, and Best New Musician has played seemingly every music festival since then, most recently LA’s FemFest, SF’s Noise Pop, and PDX’s Sabertooth Micro Fest, and is gearing up for a series of summer festival gigs across the pond. With a record she describes as being inspired as much by Yo La Tengo as it is by Carly Rae Jepsen, it’s no wonder her moody bedroom pop has found such a wide outdoor audience.
Among her recent festival circuit stops was Pickathon 2017 last August, where she brought a filled-out sound courtesy of her three-piece touring band (bass, drums, and a second guitar—sorry, no bellows-driven free-reed aerophones). Prior to her Friday evening set she graced the Pickathon Slab with a rendition of Everybody Works’s sunny single “Baybee” with its driving percussion, tropical guitars, and restrained vocals. Full of ripe picking of all stringed instruments involved—and a truly impressive pianissimo second verse—Jay Som delivers both hooks and emotions on par with her tastemaking forebears.
As always, this episode of the Slab Sessions was produced by the excellent folks at Half Stop Sessions.
