Jay Som Drops B-Sides 'A Thousand Words' + 'Can't Sleep'

NYC indie-pop angel Jay Som aka Melina Duterte is positively spoiling us today, with A Thousand Words double single drop before her Tāmaki Makaurau headline show tonight. The release will be pressed onto 7" vinyl, showcasing tracks 'A Thousand Words' and 'Can’t Sleep', both b-sides from her excellent 2019 LP Anak Ko. Duterte launches into 'A Thousand Words' with piping hot guitar and percussion, peppered with plinky piano and echoed vocals (pardon the alliteration). Off the back of a classic raucous Jay Som outro, 'Can't Sleep' is wonderfully off-kilter; all bass, snare, brass and white noise, Duterte's vocals just peeking through the pandemonium. Peep the full explanation of both tracks from the songwriter herself...

"['A Thousand Words'] was made after a year of extensive touring plus a cancelled tour. I forced myself to make a sort of big and jovial song to bring me out of the funk I was in. I also wanted to remind myself that music can be fun! It was heavily inspired by Bruce Springsteen, Elliott Smith, Pavement and that song "Alright" by Supergrass."

"'Can’t Sleep' was made in August or September 2017 while I was living with my parents in between US tours, before I moved to LA. I think I had all my gear packed away somewhere that I couldn't access, so I used instruments left over in my childhood room: a broken acoustic guitar, chopsticks on a snare drum, a bad hi hat, and my trumpet. Everything was recorded through the laptop mic. I was pretty frustrated with the California heat and the fact that I couldn't record properly, so this sort of fever dream song was born."

Take a listen below and make sure to head along to tonight's show...

Jay Som 
Thursday 20th February - Neck Of The Woods, Auckland w/ Dateline, Ineffa Crew
Tickets available via Justtheticket

Jay Som's third album 'Anak Ko' is out now via Polyvinyl / Inertia Music.