Itâs wise to be wary of buzz bands. These days it hardly matters how much time you spend honing your craftâa quick ascent to internet renown typically has more to do with how much youâre paying a publicist. The indie umpiresâ new model for achieving critical acclaim in the record industry is a Frankenstein monster recycled from payolaâs bolts.
Jay Som, the solo moniker of Bay Area songwriter Melina Duterte, is one of the first artists in a long time whose overnight success feels completely organic. Duterteâs backstory gives stock to the laypersonâs romantic and anachronistic concept of A&R: Duterte casually uploads nine tracks of sterling, personal guitar-pop to Bandcamp that someone influential stumbles upon and realizes is fucking sick. Months later, the songs are repackaged and âofficiallyâ released under the name Turn Into on San Francisco label Polyvinyl, and everyone with even a basic interest in songs and/or guitars concurs.
Jay Somâs latest record, Everybody Works, arrives less than a year after the release of Turn Into, amid critical scrutiny and the eternal specter that surrounds sophomore LPs. Itâs a better album in virtually every sense. The crystalline, dreamy production adds an extra layer of pensiveness to Duterteâs already downcast musings. âLast time I was angry at the world,â she says in the new recordâs official bio. âThis is a note to myself: Everybodyâs trying their best on their own set of problems and goals. Weâre all working for something.â On Everybody Works, Duterte is in pursuit of that somethingâsheâs pacing the lonesome beaches of her psyche with a metal detector.
The albumâs best moments are when Jay Som is right on top of the big haul. Highlight âThe Bus Songâ begins with chugging acoustic guitars and Duterteâs delicate vocals, before the track erupts into a jangling pop anthem. âWhy donât we take the bus?â Duterte asks after noting that her car is on the verge of breaking down. âYou say you donât like the smell, but I like the bus/I can be whoever I want to be.â Itâs a quaint celebration of something totally mundane, and thatâs the point: Identifying the beauty in boredom is the closest youâll ever get to existential contentment.