Jay Som - Belong

On paper, it might feel as though Jay Som has been away for a long time, considering the last release to come from Melina Duterte landed just over six years ago now. But the past few years have been far from a holiday for the multi-hyphenate, who instead has been refining her production chops, teaming up with Palehound for their duo Bachelor, and touring alongside boygenius after working on their Grammy-winning album ‘The Record’. It’s little surprise, then, to learn that her collaborative era is continuing full steam ahead on fourth album ‘Belong’, for what’s a rich, fulfilling album packed with nuance and reflection. Inspired by her early love for radio rock and pop punk, the inclusion of Jimmy Eat World’s Jim Adkins is an inspired choice for early cut ‘Float’, a track with such a delightful bounce that feels almost like a natural successor to some of the band’s earlier work. Elsewhere, Melina pushes further out of her sonic comforts than ever before; ‘Meander / Sprouting Wings’ is a disarming, glitchy offering guided by almost-indecipherable lyrics, before the surreal, pitch-shifted vocals of ‘A Million Reasons Why’ help to swaddle one of her more introspective tracks. It’s her Hayley Williams collab, ‘Past Lives’, that’s the jewel in the crown here, though, channelling the gorgeous tenderness of boygenius through a garage-rock lens to create one of the album’s most luscious moments. A record that perfectly shows her growth as an artist - and a collaborator - ‘Belong’ proves to be more than worth the wait.