Belong (Jay Som album)
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| Belong | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 10, 2025 | |||
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| Length | 33:52 | |||
| Label | Polyvinyl | |||
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| Jay Som chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Belong | ||||
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Belong is the fourth studio album by the American indie musician Jay Som. It was released through Polyvinyl Record Co., on October 10, 2025. It is her first release of new material in 6 years since the release of Anak Ko in 2019. Duterte began recording the album in her home studio in Los Angeles. The album was supported and promoted with the singles "Float", "A Million Reasons Why", "Card on the Table", "What You Need", and "Past Lives". The album received generally favourable reviews from contemporary music critics.
Melina Duterte a.k.a. Jay Som had begun recording her fourth studio album.[1] She recorded the album in her home studio in Los Angeles. Duterte wrote the album with the mindset of "searching for her place in the world",[1] and had also come up with the album's title.[2] Duterte officially announced the album on July 9, 2025, with the release of two singles, "Float" and "A Million Reasons Why".[3] Duterte later released "Card on the Table", with Mini Trees, on August 12, 2025.[4] On September 9, 2025, she released "What You Need", with Soft Glas, as a single.[5] She released "Past Lives", featuring Hayley Williams, as a single on October 7, 2025.[6]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 80/100[7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [8] |
| Beats Per Minute | 80%[9] |
| Clash | 8/10[10] |
| DIY | [11] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[12] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 7/10[13] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[2] |
| The Skinny | [14] |
| Pitchfork | 7.5/10[15] |
Belong had received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[7]
Katherine St. Asaph from Pitchfork wrote that the album's arrangements were "pop-punk at bedroom-pop scale: fist-pumping in a small space".[15] While Beats Per Minute's reviewer Chase McMullen said the "unending sense of burden looming", that he felt was present across the album, "nimbly flits between stylistic leanings, rather than diving too completely into [do it louder]".[9] John Amen of The Line of Best Fit wrote that the album had represented a shift for Duterte.[13] PopMatters' writer Christopher Laird had said it sounded like a "product of a person who spent years working on their craft".[2] Dylan Barnabe from Exclaim! felt Jay Som "weaves emotive soundscapes entirely by design" with Belong.[12]
Rhys Morgan of The Skinny said the album constantly "oscillates", switching between different textures "underscoring [this] surrender of control".[14] Sarah Jamieson from DIY perceived it as "a rich, fulfilling album packed with nuance and reflection".[11] While Clash's editor Robin Murray wrote that Belong had an "easy-on-ear feel that [is] combined to a rich audio quality".[10] AllMusic's Marcy Donelson said the album had "skillful mix of angsty and dreamy textures".[8]