Peter Bjorn and John, Bayonne, Jay Som
Recommended
If you missed San Francisco’s Melina Duterte with Mitski and Japanese Breakfast last month at the Analog, now’s your chance to catch her again, but this time opening for (oddly enough) Peter Bjorn and John. Duterte—who performs under the moniker Jay Som—builds songs around hummingbird guitar riffs that dart from chord to chord with spontaneous precision. Last November she took to her already prolific Bandcamp page to drunkenly self-release Turn Into, a collection of what she calls “finished and unfinished songs.” Then came the opening slot on Mitski’s national tour, followed by a fantastic 7-inch released on Fat Possum Records earlier this summer. Now Duterte’s signed to San Francisco label Polyvinyl, who re-released Turn Into last month. It’s a well-deserved come-up for such a talented musician—after seeing what she did with better production on 7-inch tracks “I Think You’re Alright” and “Rush,” her forthcoming official full-length debut is reason enough to look forward to 2017. CIARA DOLAN