The genre-less Gen-Z prodigy returns with a short but tight track list – it’s her most stylistically focused project so far, writes Tom Cameron
The 2020s has seen many Gen-Z self-produced talents, particularly on the more ‘internet’ side of music. The likes of Jane Remover, brakence and Osquinn all gained cult followings in their teenage years, and then went on to do bigger things, blending whatever genres they see fit – April Harper Grey (stage-name: underscores) is no exception.
It’s been two and a half years since we last got a project from her, the last being 2023’s ‘Wallsocket’, one of my favourite releases of that year. It’s a messy coming of age concept album, which demonstrates just how versatile she is – unafraid to go all in with mosh-pit adjacent bangers, as well as slowed-down sombre acoustic pieces, all on the same project.
‘U’ however, feels much more stylistically focused. The name of the game here is mostly EDM-type pop. It’s pop music that refuses to sit still – it fidgets constantly, with hard hitting drum-loops, stuttering vocal samples, and an overall chaotic feel. April’s agitated and restless state has bled into the music.
In an interview with NME, April revealed the album was an attempt to connect to what inspired her as a kid, a project suited for “fluorescent, consumerist architecture”. Which might explain the albums visuals and roll-out revolving around shopping malls, Apple Stores, mainstream pop and fame. She described the record as “music for my iPhone spy movie”.
This may have also been done as a means of her trying to restore her interest in music, as she admitted that becoming a full-time artist “sucks the fun out of it a little,”
Should she ever have a hit suitable for the big leagues, ‘Do It’ (the album’s second single) feels like the obvious contender. It’s sleek, not too left field, comes with a fun dance, and has just enough cross-appeal between 90s R&B, pop, and Y2K worship.
So far, the fan favourite deep-cut seems to be the very hyper-pop-esc ‘Innuendo (I Get U)’, a cut that effortlessly goes from a bombastic stuttering chorus, weird wispy chanting and a sense of yearning in the back end. This might be April’s definitive song.
Other highlights include ‘Hollywood Forever’ with a stutter chorus reminiscent of the old days of glitchcore. “Just don’t bury me in Hollywood forever” she declares, highlighting her strange relationship with mainstream fame (something she’s not quite achieved yet, and it’s hard to tell whether she wants that).
My favourite, however, has to be the bitter-sweet ‘Wish U Well’, the sort of song you could either cry or mosh to (or maybe both at the same time). Despite its upbeat Skrillex-esc beat, it’s one of April’s most emotional and relatable songs to date.
‘U’ might not have the same degree of world-building or conceptual grandiose of her last album, but she makes up for it by having just a brilliant track-list that never dips in quality or fun.