REVIEW | MUSICTEXT BY MAE HAMILTON
Mirages and Melodies
A number of important cultural figures, like Geor-
gia O’Keeffe and even Moses, the emancipator of the
Israelites, retreated to the harshest environment
on Earth—the desert—to seek divine inspiration.
Melina Duterte, better known by her stage name Jay
Som, is only the latest to returneth from the desolate
expanse with a bounty to share.
During a week-long solo retreat to California’s
Joshua Tree, Duterte wrote the majority of her new
album, Anak Ko, and upon her return home, she
recorded, produced and mixed it. Meaning “my child”
in Tagalog, Anak Ko is Jay Som’s second proper album,
which follows her 2017 debut Everybody Works. A
number of significant things have happened in her
life since: Duterte moved to L.A., fell in love, and quit
drinking—for good.
The indie crooner has made a name for herself
because of her emotional lyrical content and signa-
ture blend of dreamy bedroom pop, and Anak Ko is
no exception. But her latest work is characterized by
a clarity indicative of her newfound sobriety, and is
reminiscent of the vast expanse of desert where Anak
Ko was conceived.
The album kicks off with the heavy bassline and
chill, picked guitar of “If You Want It.” Duterte pen-
sively sings about a lost, but not-quite-gone love, as
whining synths wail the track’s melody. With the tinny
strum of an electric guitar, the album then transitions
into “Superbike,” the first single of Anak Ko that was
released on June 4. “Superbike” has a jingle-jangle
quality reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins’ arguably
most upbeat (and intelligible) album, Heaven or Las
Vegas. It’s a sweet but simple pop song with layers of
pleasant instrumentation that combine the laid-back
feel of acoustic guitar with the power of an electric. As
Duterte fantasizes about hopping on her “superbike”
“going 80 in the night” away from a former lover, it’s
hard not to want to hop on that bike with her.Bedroom-pop singer Jay Som went into the desert and came back with a whole new album.
UP FROM BELOW Jay Som’s latest work is characterized by a clarity indicative of her newfound sobriety. Photo by
Lindsey Byrnes.
Album art courtesy of Polyvinyl Records.Make sure to stick around to the end of Anak Ko.
The record’s biggest highlight is also its final track.
With the whine of a steel guitar and a bold snare drum,
“Get Well” strikes a refreshing contrast to the rest of
the album. The tune conjures up a mood that feels like
looking into a hazy, orange desert sunset somewhere
way out west, as Duterte sings of a friend struggling
with substance abuse, and reflects that she’s “been
sick like [them],” too.
Anak Ko is a work of art with a gentle heart. It’s
an album that strives to articulate and recreate an
atmosphere of complex human feelings, like harbor-
ing lingering feelings for past lovers and the special
kind of tenderness one feels for a friend who’s fallen
on hard times. The lyrics are simple and bare, but
the sonic landscapes Duterte has created leave room
for her listeners to explore a tender and emotionally
charged environment, and the innermost secrets of
their own hearts.CM