Jay Som Returns with Tender, Layered “Cards On The Table”

After a six-year pause between albums, Jay Som (a.k.a. Melina Duterte) returns with “Cards On The Table,” a track that’s as tender as it is quietly devastating. The second single from her forthcoming record Belong, unfurls with delicate electronic pop textures — tessellated drum machines, glassy synths, and airy hooks that swirl like thought fragments you can’t quite shake. Lexi Vega’s (Mini Trees) guest vocals dissolve into Duterte’s own, creating a weightless, intimate blend.

At its core, “Cards On The Table” is about friendship — not the kind that fades quietly, but the ones that rupture, leaving a throb where closeness used to be. Duterte captures the bittersweet push-pull of misunderstanding and drifting apart, all while weaving in subtle production details that reward close listening. It’s music that invites you to exhale and sit with what’s unresolved.

It follows Belong’s first single, “Float” (featuring Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World), and its complementary release “A Million Reasons Why,” each revealing a different facet of the record’s emotional palette. Out 10 October via Lucky Number, Belong marks Jay Som’s first full-length since 2019’s Anak Ko — and the time away from her solo project has only sharpened her craft. In the interim, Duterte has racked up an impressive list of credits, from producing tracks on the GRAMMY-winning boygenius album to collaborating with Troye Sivan, beabadoobee, and Lucy Dacus.

If “Cards On The Table” is any indication, Belong is set to be a deeply collaborative yet intensely personal album — a shimmering, multi-layered journey through change, connection, and finding your place.