Anak Ko

In case you missed it, Everybody Works was the brilliant and tender 2017 breakthrough for Jay Som. It traversed a bevy of genres and moods, putting Melina Mae Duterte’s songwriting, arrangement, performance, and production talents on display. This made for a dynamic if slightly scattershot album. It showed a wide palette (and some serious jams), but it left me hungry for a more unified work. Duterte's latest record, Anak Ko ("my child" in Tagalog), finds her at a much more stable place in her young career. Like her previous two records, Anak Ko is only a little over 30 minutes and goes down easily.

Like: Palehound, Mitski, Stephen Steinbrink, early Mac DeMarco

FCC: 1

Play: 2, 5, 6

1.If You Want It (3:13) Skulking riff and some quiet menace, the title track is an atmospheric lilt.
2.Superbike (3:53) Slow-building bridge, swelling reverb.
3.Peace Out (4:16) Brooding breakup song through and through.
4.Devotion (3:32) Pop-savvy sensibility in their casually addictive grooves.
5.Nighttime Drive (3:13) Guitars transform to a braided wash of violin, maracas, and drums at the end.
6.Tenderness (4:01) Sounds oddly like Prefab Sprout, like previous Jay Som records.
7.Anak Ko (3:38) Warm, inviting listen, but with lyrical darkness underneath to reveal itself.
8.Crown (4:38) Compact and punchy choruses with inky, moody bass and guitar.
9.Get Well (3:57) Shimmering bass groove giving way to rich rhythm guitar and weepy pedal steel.