Welcome back to the first full year of The Jabberwock’s music review column! I’m Emma, and I love music. Join me as I share albums I love!

“Hyperpop is officially dead,” said April Harper Grey (better known by her stage name “underscores”). Underscores is an artist, songwriter, and producer who got her start distributing her Garageband tracks to Soundcloud at just 12 years old. Currently assisting Charli XCX on her Music, Fashion, Film tour, underscores builds her sound from distorted vocals and glitchy production, constant changes in tempo, and infectious pop hooks. While her music is often categorized as hyperpop, the label only scratches the surface of her constantly shifting approach to pop music. You can find influences of artists spanning from Drake, to Skrillex, or even K-pop artists. Underscores described hyperpop as dead, saying that you can no longer create something “new” because it's been done for so long. But she isn’t interested in preserving a genre—she’s interested in building new ones. On U, underscores stretches pop beyond its usual boundaries, using experimental production and deeply personal storytelling to explore vulnerability in ways that feel distinctly her own. While many artists may dull down their work as they rise in popularity, underscores does almost the exact opposite, using her growing audience as an opportunity to push her music even further beyond what pop is expected to sound like.

Released in March of 2026, U is just 34 minutes long. The nine songs explore the interaction between fame and love, narrating underscores' struggles to find meaningful connections with others while maintaining “on track” with her art. The album had three singles: “Music”, “Do It”, and “Tell Me (You want it)”. “Tell me (You want it)” is the first song on the album, despite being the last one released. The song opens with a highly polished pop sound, built around a steady beat, electronic production, and catchy vocal melodies that make it immediately captivating. Underneath the upbeat production are lyrics focused on a demand for validation (“tell me you want it… see something in me, tell me what it is”). Rather than simply asking for affection, the lyrics reveal a sense of uncertainty over the genuineness of a connection or if she is simply seeking validation. Compared with the more chaotic and experimental sounds of some of underscores’ earlier works, it’s clear that U is significantly more "mainstream sounding” than prior works released by underscores, using a cleaner production style and more conventional structure.

“Tell me (You want it)” is followed by the single “Music,” one of my personal favorites because of how directly it connects the album's themes of romance and artistic obsession. Underscores opens with a vulgar lyric, followed by a narration of how she struggles to separate her mind from music, comparing her romantic relationship to a song. Musically, the track moves between soft, melodic passages and more electronic production, mirroring the way her thoughts constantly return to music. Instead of treating music as a hobby, underscores presents it almost as though it’s a relation of its own—one that competes with her ability to connect with another person.

The last single “Do It” (which was actually the second to be released of the three), utilizes fun synth zips and magnifies rhythm and texture. Underscores spends the first verse questioning a potential suitor, but as Pitchfork Media reviewers state “sexual kinks and material wealth prove meaningless.” The song quickly mutates to a more R&B type, where underscores exclaims “I just can’t do it/I’m married to the music!” Given the album thus far, it's hard not to believe her. The sudden shift reinforces the central idea of the album that no matter how appealing a person might be, underscores constantly finds herself drawn back to music. Across all three singles, U repeatedly places romance and music against each other.

“The Peace” is one of the more popular non-singles on U, with around 10.2 million streams on Spotify (more than “Tell Me (U Want It)” by over 4 million streams). The song begins with a chopped and heavily processed vocal repeating “baby can we talk,” reminiscent of Imogen Heap or Frou Frou, who are known for innovative and vocal-driven electronic pop. From there, “The Peace” settles into a drumless arrangement, relying instead on layered vocals and a looping melody to create flow without the percussion that often drives typical pop music. The lack of drums leaves space for the vocals and shifts to become the focus, giving the song an intimate quality. Lyrically, “The Peace” follows the ups and downs of a modern relationship, from sharing vanilla vape and cigarettes to travelling across Europe, attending Coachella, and eventually finding themselves in Brooklyn. Underscores has a way of making a stripped-down, drumless song sound so incredibly hypnotizing. Her lyricism is raw, relatable, and provides a uniquely intimate look into her mind as an artist and person.

Go listen to U. Genuinely. It’s only 34 minutes, and it is more than worth it to sit through this truly incredible album. Underscores is truly a gem of an artist, pushing pop in such unique directions. And if you truly find yourself enjoying her music, I urge you to listen to Jane Remover, Ninjarachi, Tiffany Day, and Frost Children. There’s a lot happening in the “hyperpop-ish” corner of music right now, and underscores is just the beginning. ‘Til next time, and thank you for reading Good Vibrations.

Information sourced from Spotify, Genius, Milk Room, 88.5 Kure, Crave Music, Pitchfork, and Wikipedia.