underscores Plays With the Concept of Genre On Latest Album, “U”
“U” album cover by Ochiai Shohei
underscores’ latest album, U, is a massive blend of genre, production, and tone for the San Francisco producer April Harper Grey. On U, she’s here to show off her talent, not by flexing, but by taking a victory lap.
“Music,” the first single from U, opens with the lyric, “Last night I had a wet dream about the perfect song.” This one lyric perfectly encapsulates the thesis of U in its entirety – she is committed to one thing and one thing only: music.
Born in 2000, Grey is a child of the internet, raised on YouTube and experimenting in GarageBand. This digital presence laid the foundation for her music production and was formative in shaping her unique, hypnotic sound, which blends genres in a way few artists can mimic.
Grey showcases that she knows exactly what she’s doing. She’s not shy and is not being humble about the fact that she knows she’s a star. “Don’t you get it? People have my lyrics tattooed on their bodies,” Grey sings on “Do it.” She knows that she’s reached stardom in her niche side of the music scene. “Do it” is turbulent and chaotic, leaving no room to catch your bearings, and by the time you’ve undone the lock and figured the song out, it transitions into “Bodyfeeling,” which slows the pace down and allows you to catch your breath for a moment before it explodes into a moment of pure catharsis in the outro.
Where underscores’ previous albums, Fishmonger and Wallsocket, combined genres like rock, pop, and hyperpop, U is almost impossible to define as any single genre. U is a celebration of her craft and her ability to blend genres in a way that leaves them almost unrecognizable. Some might be quick to label it hyperpop, and maybe that’s an easy name for something so new and fresh.
While Wallsocket was more of a concept album, following different characters through different events, U drops the concept and instead focuses on vibrant tapestries of songs like “Tell Me (U Want It)” and “Do it” that are turbulent and chaotic, and songs like “Lovefield” and “Wish U Well” that slow down the momentum.
underscores is clearly an amalgamation of their inspirations. They’ve spent their entire life listening to music and being surrounded by it. So it’s a refreshing feeling when you can pick out what inspired her when she chose a certain sample, vocal tone, or chord progression. On Wallsocket, it was easy to pick out which songs were inspired by artists like 100 gecs, Sky Ferreira, or even Sufjan Stevens.
On U, Grey is clearly inspired by current heavy-hitting artists like Oklou, 2hollis, Mk.gee, and maybe most notably, Imogen Heap. On “The Peace,” Grey casts aside traditional instrumentals and relies entirely on pitching her own vocals to create a vivid soundscape that Imogen Heap is known for. It’s a standout on an album that is filled with a wide assortment of distorted synths and over-production.
“The Peace” follows Grey as she recalls various times she smoked cigarettes with someone she had feelings for. Grey sheds the confident persona she spent the first three songs building to show that when she’s in love, she changes her persona to make herself into something that the other person will love.
“Yeah, I don’t speak unless I’m spoken to / Yeah, I don’t smoke unless you’re smoking too / Yeah, I just wanna keep the peace with you.”
The album is full of these small moments of intimacy and vulnerability that balance out with the tongue-in-cheek, almost hubristic moments of vanity and dedication to music. It’s this tone shift that keeps the album interesting and not just a boastful flex of her own perceived worth in the industry. She’s in a consistent struggle between her music and her romantic life, which all comes to a head in the final song, “Wish U Well.”
“And if I'm being honest with myself, I don't want closure / I want to feel the gravity of losing you,” Grey sings. The song is about knowing you can’t return to someone, but not wanting to move on. Grey wants to sit with the pain, even if she doesn’t necessarily like this person anymore. Is it the pain that makes the music or the music that makes the pain?
The song slowly fades out, and then the album is over. Not with a bang, but with a solemn and introspective look at oneself.
You can find underscores on your preferred streaming platform of choice. underscores has released a full video of U, which shows Grey walking through the major inspiration for “U,” the Galleria Mall in San Francisco.