GutterPutter

April Harper Grey has been on the rise since the turn of the decade. Under the stage name of underscores, she had released 2 previous albums which showcase her talent as both a producer and a singer-songwriter. I have previously reviewed her debut fishmonger as one of my first posts with a positive review regarding how distinct it feels compared to other albums around the time where hyperpop was trending within online culture. I listened to her second album Wallsocket to which I have enjoyed, but find a tad bit lacklustre in comparison. Her rainbow-like influences and unconventional beats makes her an icon among both the LGBT+ community and the Bandcamp scene.

Grey’s more recent ventures have shown her drift away from the more rock-driven direction of Wallsocket in favour of going back to her electropop roots. However, it is not so much the return of hyperpop abrasiveness so much as it is a synthesis between her breakout style and the potency of the pop artists in the 2000s-2010s like Grimes, Justin Timberlake, and Skrillex. A major example of this shift is that of her featured production and vocals in Danny Brown’s ‘Copycats’ for Stardust last year where the beat jitters from its bass boosts and production puts emphasis on faux-commercial kitsch from the use of autotune and skippy hi-hats. The result is nothing but one of the best songs of the year for how well it is able to maintain the balance between the surface-layer braggadocio and inferred parodic shots fired at the tropes.

If the third time in releasing an album will help make a charm, u is the opus that marks the Rubicon for underscores as the mainstay. Grey herself is no longer the minor star who is able to amass her own cult following during the Covid pandemic, but she’s now the headlining name who is vying to reshape the pop scene. If there’s anyone who is sure to make the left-field aesthetic of PC Music into a mainstream staple, she might be that person. U ebbs, crackles, and pops all around with the way that it intertwines the experience of being a music artist with relationships, sexuality, and introspection. Its production in particular blends the eclecticness that is on-brand of underscores with a restraint that would prove risky in hindering whatever aspect of songwriting or technical playing that is emotionally impactful. However, this album leaps beyond that threat and thus only reveals the versatility that underscores herself possesses.

The album clocks in at 34 minutes as it eschews longer pieces in favour of punchy choruses and clear accessibility. ‘Tell Me (U Want It)’ is the intro which best illustrates both the adjustment in direction and the more nuanced approach to pop music. The fast-paced guitar riff which comes off more like a piano glissandro serves as a chill contrast to the implied depression that is felt by underscores as she sought to find short-term remedies by getting laid. The dissonance between the upbeat albeit avant-garde production and the crises over chasing pursuits that are more like psychological MacGuffins. The brostep drops for the loud-quiet dynamics and subtly industrial lack of nerves that penetrates the ending makes for a solid start.

The deep cuts are worth their high praise in how they showcase the broad themes of being a musician with an increasingly publicised personal life. ‘Hollywood Forever’ tackles the seeming focus on jealousy over newfound luxury and fame when the subtext might be that Grey is struggling to grapple with her rise to stardom. The bass drop that makes the climax especially echoes this internalised anxiety that her success might prove itself to be short-lived and the addressee, perhaps a long-time fan, might no longer “believe in [her]”. ‘The Peace’ is a subliminal ode to one of underscores’s key musical influences in Imogen Heap through its entirely vocalised a cappella samples to make up the entire instrumentation. The lyrics there also reinforce its intimacy as it’s about Grey’s memories of hanging out with her friend with the key symbol being smoking as a way to remember the two’s bond. 

For others, ‘Innuendo (I Get U)’ further proves underscores’s versatility and in a way, it even shows the higher end of her lyricism as there exists a double meaning. Its more Bubblegum Bass-driven snappy synths and reggaeton-like rhythm conveys a war of smarts over seduction, yet the context surrounding Grey being a trans woman infers an unrequited sexual love for an individual who doesn’t see her as “[their] type of girl”. ‘Lovefield’ acts as a companion piece in summing up the difficulties in finding a relationship with its even more minimalistic focus on bouncy basslines at the expense of maximalism used to underline the hollowing “Lovefield” until the climax from the drop. ‘Bodyfeeling’ is the most rock-sounding track in the song as while electric guitar exactly “there” so to say, the synth sounds as if it ticks up and down to imitate a riff and once the chorus comes, it harmonises into a chord to mimic the powerful strums to add to the rhythm. Such an impression is bound to illustrate how solid the use of instrumentation is in inventing new textures to both mirror and stand out from its inspiration.

A worthwhile highlight of U rests on the ways that it tackles the pains of becoming more and more famous at the expense of your personal relations. Especially from the romantic end, U proves itself relentless in how it uses autotunes to unsettle you from its groovy dance-pop exterior. ‘Do It’ takes on the paranoia of starting a relationship with an unknown as a public celebrity through the sampled jangle of the acoustic guitar strums and sharp cuts between the electronic beats. The rhythm is unstoppable and yet it also articulates the difficulty in developing your personal life further through the guitar and masquerading as a musician from the dance-pop structure. ‘Wish U Well’ has a more meta-based subtext of the close relationship between Grey as the person and her original cult following when she’s starting her career as her fame necessitates her cutting off that bond. The seeming theme of the relationship ending feels symbolic of underscores as a project no longer being the underground staple it once was. The very personal descriptions around how she puts on a specific radio station as an example of the changes happening demonstrates the inevitable end of her chapter as a small-time name. There’s a very bittersweet feeling to have in the track as the conclusion.

The biggest highlight pick in U is the song that stands out as the first single – ‘Music’. The glitchy jitters that form the bedrock of the beat and the theme on the line between Grey’s day-to-day life and her career as a musician feels akin to synaesthesia. The ways that she reminisces about the difficulties of getting into a relationship with a person due to incompatible milieus and how it seeps into her knowledge as a lifelong music fan compliments the timing of the autotunes and the deep basslines. It looks as if it’s marking when she can make use of it as inspiration and the high-end pitches of the percussion imitates that of a typing process to underscore (pun unintended) the continual motion of songwriting. The climax especially is cathartic as when the vocalisation is at its maximum, so too comes the emotional refrain which punctuates how important music is in her life. “It’s everything to me” might as well be the perfect summary of U in how it highlights its dominant influence.

U is easily one of the best records of this year and it’s one I could easily see as a top contender. It’s the kind of record that marks the moment when pop music should move onward in its evolution. The beats serve as the perfect continuation from the hyperpop names in 100 gecs or the preceding PC Music that pioneered the punchy hyperboles in dancey electropop formula. The lyrics are both accessible and yet smart in their own ways with how Grey sings about herself in the context of her rising fame. And the production of course offers a clear shine in the music that makes it both palpable and adventurous. If you want more of Charli XCX’s poppiness, check underscores out. If you want more of Magdalena Bay’s inventiveness, check underscores. If you want the best of the post-hyperpop movement. Check. Underscores. Out.

4.8/5