Indie Rock Hit Parade Live Session: Jay Som

Jay Som | Photo by Tiana Timmerberg for WXPN

For our latest Indie Rock Hit Parade Live Session, we were joined in the studio by Melina Duterte, the main brain behind Jay Som. The Oakland-based artist has been making music on her own for a few years, recently releasing her full-length debut on Polyvinyl, Everybody Works. Though all the parts on the album are played by Melina herself, she tours with a full band that features Oliver Pannell on guitar, Dylan Allard on bass and Zachary Elsasser on drums. Taking a short break before a show with The Courtneys, Jay Som dropped by to showcase how the meticulous studio tracks blossom in a live setting.

Jay Som’s songs end to sneak up on you. Check out the slow-building intro on session opener “Baybee.” On the album, a light keyboard line floats through the R&B-inflected track, but it’s re-imagined as a slick guitar line from Pannell. The intertwining guitar work toward the song’s end betrays the band’s collective love for exploratory groups like Stereolab and Television. Next up is a fan favorite, “The Bus Song.” Again, the interplay between the band members raises the already dynamic track to new highs (and a few dramatic lows). It also marks what might be the very first fake-out ending on an IRHP session track. Closing the session is the meditative “One More Time, Please.” The song doesn’t feature very many lyrics, but it’s a sparse and arresting track nonetheless.

Listen to Jay Som’s complete Indie Rock Hit Parade session below. Plus watch the band perform “Baybee” via Vuhaus and check out some of Rachel Del Sordo and Tiana Timmerberg’s photos from the studio:

[vuhaus category=”videos” item=”jay-som-baybee-key-studio-session” ][/vuhaus]