Jay Som – “Nighttime Drive” Video
The sophomore album from Jay Som, AKA Melina Duterte, is due later this month. We’ve already heard two tracks from Anak Ko, the follow up to her 2017 debut, Everybody Works, including “Superbike” and “Tenderness.” Today, she’s releasing a third single called “Nighttime Drive” along with a video.
In true Jay Som fashion, this track has an uplifting sweetness that’s tempered by observational awareness. The way her soft vocals deliver the semi-ironic lyrics with a blasé passiveness creates this hazy, day-dreaming feeling. She sings, “Been watching hours pass/ Inside cars with no glass/ Constructing shallow dreams of/ Shoplifting at the Whole Foods.” I mean, same. The high point is the orchestral ending, which utilizes a full string section.
Directed by Han Hale, the video has a bizarre Men In Black theme, replete with aliens, crop circles, and black trench coats. Considering the musicality of the track, and that the lyrics have nothing to do with aliens, the video feels purposefully disorienting. It alternates between shots of Duterte dozing off in what looks like a tour van with her band members and lip-syncing in front of a green screen cast with galactic images.
Check out the video for “Nighttime Drive” below.
Anak Ko is out 8/23 on Polyvinyl (North America), Pod/Inertia Music (Australia/New Zealand/Asia), and Lucky Number (rest of world). Pre-order it here.