underscores @ The Observatory: Crafting A Niche
Santa Ana, California - May 29, 2026
It’s 2009. You are absolutely doused in Victoria Secret’s Love Spell. You’re walking around the mall with your earbuds in listening to your pirated limewire music on shuffle: it goes Avril Lavigne, Cashmere Cat, Girls’ Generation, Justin Bieber, Skrillex. You’re headed to the arcade to meet your friends for a DDR and guitar hero sesh, and nothing at the mall costs over $25, yet...
Everyone is tapping into the nostalgia of y2k - what makes underscores stand out? underscores embodies an era of time where being online meant something. It informed the subcultures you participated in, what you found funny, what you wore, what you listened to, and really, who you were.
Performing classics off of Fishmonger like “Locals” and “spoiled little brat”, collabs like “harvest sky” with oklou and “1-800-FUCKOFF” with kimj, and unreleased songs like “unlimited love”, underscores unabashedly shows her personality and a tapped in-ness that is unrivaled; she knows her niche and doubles down on it. The visuals created to pair with each song and its messaging and energy was curated and intentional. Referencing the 2000s logomania, clipart craze, and the boom of the YouTube vlog and DIY scene, she carefully curates and distills the internet into something palpable, creating an offline experience that feels as thrilling as it felt sneaking onto the family computer to watch Maple Story AMVs and check on your Neopet. underscores knows who she is, and doesn’t for a moment shy away from it.
From the intestine rumbling bass of “poplife” to the pared back “del mar county fair 2008” and “lovefield”, underscores brought us along the sine wave of her discography. As one song ebbed and flowed into the next, from musical pauses to an unrelenting bass line, one thing is clear; everything is intentional.
Her lyricism touches on themes of otherness, feelings of yearning, liminality, and love, vividly bringing us into her headspace. Paired with the world’s most addictive earworm-y beats, underscores crafts music that is complex yet undeniably fun.
In the uncertainty of modern times, one thing is certain; underscores makes you feel the bpm. <3
