SOUNDTRACK: JAY SOM-Tiny Desk Concert #634 (July 10, 2017).
I’d heard Jay Som’s “The Bus Song” and one other song from a few years back. There was much I liked about the song. I like the way the whole band chants “but I like the bus” during the second verse but more impressive is the way the chorus soars to great high notes (even more unexpected is the high notes that come from drummer Zachary Elsasser.
But aside from that I didn’t know much about Jay Som
Jay Som is the project of 23-year-old Melina Duterte, who has been creating music for the past 10 years or so on a multitude of instruments, from guitar to trumpet. Though she played every instrument on her newest record Everybody Works, her touring band here at the Tiny Desk gave a rougher edge to some of the more premeditated sounds on her wonderful album.
I know “The Bus Song” from All Songs Considered and that’s because:
Of the three songs they chose to bring to the Tiny Desk, one was a personal favorite from Everybody Works: “The Bus Song,” which is a perfect swirl of stream-of-consciousness:
Take your time
Won’t be long till our car breaks down
Your hands in mine
Feel like a firefighter when I take off your shoesBefore concluding with a thoughtful nod to her partner:
Take time to figure it out
I’ll be the one who sticks around
And I just want you to lead me
And I just want you to need meIt’s lyrics like this, alongside the comfy, no-frills directness of Duterte’s delivery, which make Jay Som feel so welcoming and refreshing.
Even though Melina is the leader of the band I was surprised to hear that the lead guitar work comes from Oliver Pinnell–she adds some great, interesting rhythm chords. But mostly she focuses on singing. Her voice isn’t amazing or noteworthy, it’s just very nice and gentle (and tuneful).
“Baybee” opens with some fast high bass notes from Dylan Allard and then a soaring guitar line from Pinnell that sounds kind of like a synth. Melina plays interesting chords to support him. There’s cool moment when everything kind of slows down and grows woozy before resuming again. The song is a little slick, but I like it. She and Oliver play little solos off each other at the end.
Before the final song she says she’ll “wet my whistle,” and then says “well, it’s the end of the road. This is the last song ever. We’re going to be gone forever.”
Oliver then chimes in, “I’m picturing the You Tube comments now, just like uhhh.” [I have no idea where he’s going with that]. Melina jokes, “Why are the so sweaty?”
Opening “I Think You’re Alright” she plays a chord, Oliver plays the same chord and then Dylan plays it. It’s a smooth almost sultry song–again not what I expected from her. Oliver sings high backing vocals. The song feels like its coming to and end with Dylan scratching along the bass strings and then she and Oliver plays some slow chords that sure sounds like it’s going to end. And then she sings the slow final verse which ultimately ends pretty abruptly.
The set is pretty surprising given that the other song I know from her “1 Billion Dogs” is really fuzzy and almost shoegazey. I’m curious to hear more from her.
[READ: May 10, 2017] “The Guide Dog of Hermosilla”
This is a fascinatingly told story translated by Martina Broner.
A man on his regular route sees a homeless man under a bridge. The man has a dog. The man doesn’t beg or really do anything. And the dog seems to have infinite patience (the narrator is impressed with the dog–“his understated style was interesting.”
Then there’s this sentence:
One day, things were going well–I wasn’t getting laid off, not yet–and I wanted to show that I was grateful.
It’s the “not yet” part that I can’t tell if it’s supposed to be forecasting or concern. But it hangs over the story like a cloud. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 