Underscores announces new album ‘U’

Underscores has announced new album ‘U’ – check out all the details below.

• READ MORE: Underscores: the hyperpop satirist refusing to regress

The US hyperpop star – real name April Harper Grey – is set to release the new record on March 20 via Mom+Pop – you can pre-order/pre-save it here. The album will also receive a physical release on vinyl and CD on May 15, and you can check out more details on that here.

The sound of ‘U’ is shaped by liminal spaces and a feeling of transience, with Grey saying in a press release: “Music for malls, airports, hotels, supermarkets. I wrote these songs for U.” shares underscores.”

‘U’ features previously shared singles ‘Music’ and ‘Do It’, ushering in a new creative era that’s been followed up with new single release, ‘Tell Me (U Want It)’. Expanding on the maximalist pop approach of the album, the song is described by underscores as “music for my iPhone spy movie.”

The smartphone-centred spy film in question colours the track’s accompanying music video, which comes directed and produced by Underscores. The new visuals see her steal a mysterious USB stick and go undercover while being chased cat and mouse-style across the country by its owner.

Shot across New York, Chicago and San Francisco, the video also features appearances by Jane Remover and Fraxiom – check it out below.

The ‘U’ tracklist is:

‘Tell Me (U Want It)’
‘Music’
‘Hollywood Forever’
‘The Peace’
‘Innuendo (I Get U)’
‘Lovefield’
‘Do It’
‘Bodyfeeling’
‘Wish U Well’

Last year, Underscores spoke to NME for The Cover ahead of her slot at Coachella, where she broke down the creation of her breakthrough album ‘Wallsocket’. Built around a fictional town, the record charts the lives of three suburban girls as they come of age and reckon with religion, violence, class divides and feminine rage, using their experiences as a vehicle to critique the tensions of Middle America.

“Exploring those little pockets of frustration is important,” Grey said. “I was thinking a lot about the cards that are dealt in America.”

She also touched on how she’d move on from ‘Wallsocket’, saying “everything was way too intentional” on that record. “[Now], everything is: ‘fuck it’. It’s way more ‘brain off’ right now than it’s ever been.”

To accompany The Cover, Underscores also put together an exclusive playlist for NME, titled ‘The Golden Key’. Featuring tracks by Justin Bieber, 2PM, Oklou, Hilary Duff, Effie and more, she explains she “can only really listen to music in this key anymore”. Listen to the full playlist on Apple Music here.

Find out more about Underscores in the full Cover story here and see who else has been on The Cover here.