Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 11/9/25
Los Angeles-based / Bay area- raised multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Melina Duterte aka Jay Som recently released the critically acclaimed Belong – her first new album in over six years. The record has received praise from NPR, The New York Times, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Stereogum, The Needle Drop, Alternative Press and Paste Magazine, calling it “one of Jay Som’s strongest works of late.” Next month, she will be heading on tour, playing at Aisle 5 on 12/5.
Early praise for Jay Som & Belong:
“Indie’s secret weapon” – Rolling Stone
“Duterte’s third album, ‘Belong,’ has both pillowy guitar textures and plenty of bite.”
– The New York Times
“Come for the gauzy songwriting, stay for the hooks stuck in your head” – Pitchfork
“the full thrush of this is very much pop-punk catharsis..the eruption of it, it’s just so satisfying”
– NPR Music
“a startling, spectacular return…’Float’ is one of the most purely pleasurable rock songs in recent memory.” – Stereogum
“a tender electro-pop track featuring textured synths, piano, and dreamy vocals. The evolving soundscape feels effortless and vibrant”
– Paste
“’Belong’ is an expansion of her once nascent talents, a rush of electro-synths, punk-pop and other variously nostalgic indie genres, presented in a new way.” – Associated Press
“While she indulges in a bit of nostalgia, this is no aughts radio rock pastiche; her sound remains refreshingly her own”
– them
“‘Float’ feels like an organic collaboration mixing Jay Som’s dream pop sensibilities with Adkins’ signature sound” – Consequence
“a truly excellent electro-pop track…with some of her best vocals to date.”
– Billboard
“Even on her most collaborative release yet, Duterte’s individual vision has never been stronger or clearer.” – Brooklyn Vegan
“another triumph” – Interview Magazine
“…the production and attention to the tiniest details throughout Belong show a new level of artistry.” – PopMatters
Jay Som – the project of Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Melina Duterte – just released Belong, her first new album in over six years. Belong features Jay Som’s first-ever collaborations and today she shares a music video for one of the album’s biggest moments – “Past Lives” featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore.
Studio Sparks (Cristiana Figueiredo & Lucas Moreira) who directed the video note:
“We wanted the animation to reflect the journey of personal discovery that the song represents.
We imagined a tiny, music-box-sized character who escapes into a vast frozen world, haunted by shadowy reflections of her past self as she travels through melting cliffs, falling stars, and cracking ice — a fragmented narrative mirroring her emotions and confusions through surreal sequences. Caught between collapse and transformation, she spirals upward through abstract scenes of memory and feeling, ultimately reconnecting with all the lives that live within her.”
Watch Jay Som spiraling up in the mesmerizing animated video HERE.
Jay Som will embark on her first North American tour in over 5 years this winter, but first she’ll return to the EU/UK starting this weekend. See below to find a show near you, and get your tickets HERE.
Since Jay Som’s critically acclaimed sophomore album Anak Ko came out in 2019, Duterte has spent the last few years cultivating her passion for production and audio engineering. This lead to producing credits on the GRAMMY-winning boygenius album the record, Lucy Dacus’ latest Forever Is A Feeling, and countless beloved indie records. She also joined boygenius as a touring band member, collaborated alongside the likes of Troye Sivan and beabadoobee with No Rome, contributed to the I Saw the TV Glow soundtrack, and more. Yes, Jay Som itself has been on a bit of a break; Duterte, however, has perhaps been busier than ever.
Finally, Jay Som returns with Belong. While Jay Som has always been a solo project for Duterte, this album finds her expanding her world by collaborating with outside musicians, writers and producers. Duterte wrote, composed, performed, produced, engineered and mixed the record with contributions from Joao Gonzalez (of Soft Glas), Mal Hauser (a collaborator to Mk.gee and Illuminati Hotties), Steph Marziano (producer for Vundabar, Hot Wax, Sir Chloe) and Kyle Pulley, and she also welcomed guest vocalists for the first time. The album finds Duterte searching for her place, or somewhere she belongs, within an indie rock ecosystem that Jay Som stepped away from for the past six years. The result is an album unlike any Jay Som record before it: a gripping 11-song set about self-definition that floats between supercharged power-pop hits and hazy ballads, between electronic curiosities and lighters-up anthems.
DOWNLOAD, STREAM & PURCHASE BELONG – OUT NOW!
Tour Dates
11/03 – Berlin, Germany @ Kantine am Berghain
11/05 – Paris, France @ Pitchfork Paris – Le Trabendo
11/06 – Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique – Rotonde
11/08 – London, UK @ Pitchfork London – Earth Theatre
11/22 – San Francisco, CA @ Bimbos 365 Club %
11/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey +
12/02 – Austin, TX @ Brushy Street Commons*^
12/03 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada*
12/05 – Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5 *
12/06 – Memphis, TN @ Raised By Sound Fest
12/08 – Washington, DC @ Atlantis ~
12/09 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry ~
12/11 – New York, NY @ Warsaw ~
12/12 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall ~#
12/13 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall ~
12/14 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line ~
12/19 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos ~
12/20 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater ~
% w/ Sour Widows
+ w/ Fashion Club
~ w/ Sea Lemon
* w/ Jahnah Camille
^ w/ proun
# w/ Tory Silver
