Underscores: U review – ultra-imaginative auteur has pop’s most brilliant brain
Why it matters: Underscores' evolution showcases a brilliant artist refining her unique vision, pushing pop's boundaries.
- April Grey (Underscores) is a US bedroom producer admired by artists like 100 Gecs, Danny Brown, and Travis Barker, known for her ultra-imaginative and hard-to-categorize sound.
- Her previous albums, Fishmonger and Wallsocket, were characterized by a "hyperpop meets emo pop-punk" style, featuring a dense, "heavily-caffeinated" mix of distorted guitars, rave electronics, nu-metal riffs, and varied vocal deliveries.
- U, her latest album, marks a significant shift, moving away from the emo/punk influence towards the experimental R&B sounds of the late 90s/early 00s, reminiscent of producers like Timbaland and The Neptunes, while still embracing a degree of maximalism.
Underscores, the musical project of April Grey, has evolved from her maximalist hyperpop-meets-emo-punk sound to a more refined, yet still experimental, approach on her latest album, U. While previous works like Fishmonger and Wallsocket were praised for their imaginative chaos, U sees Grey paring back the intensity, drawing heavily from late 90s/early 00s R&B while retaining her signature genre-bending brilliance.
