“I Think You’re Alright” by Jay Som

Very cool to see an artist first heard over a year ago and featured here a few times since then now has a 7″ single coming out on Fat Possum Records. Here’s Jay Som with “I Think You’re Alright”.

Back in March 2015 PopLib featured “Forget About It Kid” – a track appearing on UK label Beech Coma’s “Vol.3” cassette compilation.

“I Think You’re Alright” is more of the distinctive DIY pop-craft with magical instrumental arrangements that is Jay Som’s trade-mark. This one is more noise-rock than the DIY 80’s shoegaze pop sound of previous songs but it continues the ultra-melodic leanings which made those earlier songs so compelling.

“I Think You’re Alright” takes a slightly darker lyrical theme, on the surface a woozy love song. But soon the initial understated adoration seems to build an undercurrent of strange obsession perhaps. Always love a song presenting multiple possible layers of meaning.

Hopefully this single is a sign Fat Possum have also seen the potential of young Californian Melina Duterte (as Jay Som, now a live band) and we’ll see an album by next year.

“Peach Boy” by Jay Som

Way back in March PopLib featured “Forget About It Kid” by Jay Som/ Melina Duterte, raving (just a little bit) about its Cure-inspired chorus guitar and synth wash with a nod in the direction of 80’s post-punk.

There’s now a whole album of heart-melting DIY perfect pop from this young Californian musician. “Peach Boy” is the opening track on this collection titled, well, “Untitled”.

“Untitled” – which Melina describes as “A collection of finished & unfinished songs written/recorded/and mixed from March 2014 – October 2015” – contains song after song combining perfect underground melodic pop songwriting sensibilities with sometimes exotic instrumental arrangements.

Whereas “Forget About It Kid” seemed to take its cue from The Cure and 80s post-punk (as filtered through the prism of a Californian teenager’s mind 30 years later) “Untitled” widens and deepens that palette of sonic influences to include “dad rock” (according to the tags on the album’s Bandcamp page at least), ’90’s shoegaze and beyond.

It’s gorgeous, adventurous, nuanced alternative pop, written, performed, recorded and mixed with preternatural understanding of how this kind of music should sound.

Treat yourself & be generous on the “name your price” Bandcamp album purchase. It’s almost Christmas after all.

 

 

 

 

“Forget About It Kid” by Jay Som/ Melina Duterte

UK cassette label Beech Coma has already featured in PopLibNZ. It was through Vol. 1 that I discovered Tuff Love and found their Scottish label Lost Map and bought their 10″ EP “Dross” recently.

Vol. 3 is out and, once again, it’s a spectacular collection of indie-pop from around the world. Confirmation of both the global reach and immaculate taste of Beech Coma is their inclusion of PopLibNZ’s song of 2014 “Zero” by Fazerdaze.

Right now I just can’t get past the perfect majesty of the very first track by Californian Melina Duerte (also going under the solo name Jay Som on her own Bandcamp page).

It’s a great song, right from that Cure-inspired chorus guitar to the epic chiming guitar parts and synth wash. Sure it has a nod in the direction of 80’s post-punk, but there was nothing quite as wonderful as this back then. I was there.

As with the previous Beech Coma compilations, Vol. 3 is a great place to start a voyage of discovery, shining a light on music we would otherwise miss.

You can read an interview with Melina Duterte on Impose.