Review: underscores in New York City
FINALLY, WE LEAVE WALLSOCKET - the fictional Michigan town and namesake of the second underscores LP. For a sold-out crowd at Brooklyn’s Elsewhere nightclub, underscores played her experimental pop tracks at their most raw, their most rock-and-roll, on the album’s last tour date.
underscores (aka April Harper Grey) first toured Wallsocket alone onstage, singing and controlling the tracks across America and the world. This special leg of shows, coined “town hall USA” and only hitting four major U.S. cities, emphasized the bonus tracks on Wallsocket (Director’s Cut) and debuted her first ever live band. From the openers — umru, Petal Supply, and abbot — to featured guests to the afterparty, Grey and her fellow underground pop stars curated an all-night found family reunion.
After “About You Now” by Miranda Cosgrove ended the pre-show playlist in a custom distortion, Grey centered herself between a drummer and a guitarist, all beneath metal frames and dangling Edison lights.
underscores performed a journey. Some songs stripped down to twinkly emo strings and melancholic electronics, soothing as the room sang about death and pain. Others struck a more punk chord and amped up the crowd, pushing the mosh pit against the front of the stage as the sea of people belted along to the bouncy, repetitive melodies. Grey set the tone, whether dancing across the stage or soberly singing in place, adding a layer of guitar or controlling electronic elements. For the whole ride, the band entranced the mostly queer, alternative fans.
Visuals alternated between relying on stage elements (lightbulbs fading in and out, Grey’s bandmates pointing flashlights around the venue), showing eclectic graphics (Dance Dance Revolution arrows, the grim reaper taking public transit), and projecting scenes that resembled the fake town of Wallsocket (Grey riding in a truckbed, a CAD modeled suburban home revolving continuously). Grey wore jeans with a horseshoe — either the Wallsocket symbol, an emphasized True Religion logo, or both — painted in white on her back pockets.
To close the main set, one with less processed vocals and muted colors, Grey dialed up the autotune and displayed an dizzying neon explosion for her first major hit, “Spoiled little brat” (flashing Charli xcx’s BRAT album cover when the word came up in song). The encore wrapped with a cover of “About You Now,” bookending the show with the feelgood zoomer singalong.
The local openers offered great variety while united under the experimental pop umbrella. umru deejayed an entirely original set with deft board control, seamlessly shifting from atmospheric to heavy beats, from screams to melodies, from pop hits to weird shit, while filling the soundscape with extra textures and frequencies. Petal Supply sang her hyper dance tracks like an alien EDM princess, amping up the room as she jumped with her knees to her chest and whipped around her hair, center stage. abbot, an emo rockstar, belted city boy confessionals into the mic as a hyperpop-tinged band played behind him.
For the 21+ crew, the night wasn’t finished yet. town hall USA’s official afterparty, elenastock at the nightclub Rash, featured milkfish, Grey’s DJ alias, going back-to-back with the birthday celebrant, elena fortune, and others. A slew of DJs mixed while fans grooved until dusk.
underscores gathered the alt-pop creative hearts of Brooklyn for an epic Wallsocket finale.
