The self-recorded project of California musician
Melina Duterte
,
Jay Som
made her label debut in 2016 with
Turn Into
, a collection of select early songs that drew widespread acclaim from the indie-music press. She followed it a year later with
Everybody Works
, a varied official debut album that landed on the Billboard Independent Albums chart. Earning increased attention for her textured production and stylized mixes as much as for her intimate writing, she began to find demand as a producer for others (
Chastity Belt
Nylon Smile
). Where
improves on the follow-up,
Anak Ko
, is in overall songcraft and album-length design. Written alone during a week-long retreat in Joshua Tree, the home-recorded album was again engineered, produced, and mixed by
Duterte
, though, for the first time, she involved guest musicians, including her live band (drummer
Zachary Elsasser
, bassist
Dylan Allard
, and guitarist
Oliver Pinnell
). Other players include
's
Annie Truscott
Vagabon
Laetitia Tamko
Boy Scouts
'
Taylor Vick
, and prior duo-EP collaborator
Justus Proffit
.
Though very much of its own time,
's frequent, lush '80s influences are most notable on tracks including the
Prefab Sprout
-inspired "Tenderness" and the infectious "Superbike," a song that doesn't require a press release to identify
Cocteau Twins
as a model (less conspicuous is co-namecheck
Alanis Morissette
). Its swirling layers of rhythmic guitar patterns and syncopated drums provide cushiony atmosphere to a soaring vocal line.
's always soft, approachable vocals don't seem to drop out of the song midway through so much as become enveloped by instrumental textures. Elsewhere, the orchestral pop of
the Walker Brothers
' inspired string arrangements on the elegant "Nighttime Drive" ("So used to feeling numb/Shifting through the nighttime drive/We'll be just fine"). The more experimental title track implies a steady groove as it traverses pensive, warm, ominous, and spacy sections. Later, pedal steel by
Nicholas Merz
is featured on the contrastingly sleepy, country-inflected closer, "Get Well." Despite these variations, discernable influences, and the involvement of collaborators, the comforting
is more unified in tone than prior releases and benefits from its marriage of immersive sound design with consistently engaging songs. ~ Marcy Donelson