U

NEW UNDERSCORES ALBUM AND (of course) SHE KNOCKS IT OUT OF THE FUCKINGGG PARKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!! after the 3 year album silence after "Wallsocket" which was honestly an absolutely FLAWLESS album and the pretty slow album rollout like the first single MUSIC being out since june 2025; my excitement for underscores' new album was slowly dwindling but i was hopeful nonetheless. underscores is one of my favorite artists i have the pleasure to listen to ever since i heard "Wallsocket" (that album being my most listened to back in 2024), which turned me into a pretty big fan of her. i wasn't really tapped into the rollout of the album but i did enjoy the first single nonetheless but i didn't really catch up after that. one thing i DID notice when listening to the first single is that the sound of it was a huge drastic change compared to her previous efforts, especially on "Wallsocket" which its genres of blending indietronica, electropop, hyperpop and many other sounds into one album while the single for this album is mostly focused on electropop. i didn't really think too much of it because the single was great but i was a little worried since the genre-blending efforts on "Wallsocket" was the main reason why i fell in love with underscores' work. nonetheless, i was still hopeful that i would enjoy "U" since its underscores what would you expect the worst thing she would do with her music was to be boring with it, and this album was far from boring.

despite the main genre of this album being electropop instead of her previous album blending so many genres into one; it is damn sure good electropop and if she stays in the electropop lane i would not complain in the slightest. the album kicks off with TELL ME (U WANT IT), which starts off pretty slow but promising then it blasts off into some great electropop, not insane or anything but i felt a lot of joy listening to it. the first track overall is amazing and honestly tells you how this album would go; makes you want to fucking dance and groove with it, and it is damn groovy. the next track is of course the single MUSIC where underscores creates the concept of MUSIC which no one has ever made and she is the first one to ever do it... create MUSIC.. and no one could tell me otherwise. this album is just filled with good feeling electropop and she does it so damn well, like i am fine with electropop but with songs such as INNUENDO (I GET U) where the last moments of the song causes the energy of it go up to an eleven or DO IT, which is also an another amazing single where the electropop feel just gets better and bigger to the point that i want to dance with it, speaking of which i could definitely see this song in a just dance game WHICH COULD HONESTLY HAPPEN BECAUSE SHE DID RELEASE A REALLY COOL DANCE MUSIC VIDEO FOR THIS SONG!!!!! the song BODYFEELING despite it being so simple especially for underscores standards, the punchy groovy drums and the song being so damn catchy makes the song such a huge highlight for me.

one song that didn't click with me however is "THE PEACE" and i think its because of the progression of the song is what kills it for me. it sounds like it is building up for something insane or a crazy electropop tune but the song was honestly just a really long build up for me at least which did kind of ruin the song for me. it could've gone so much better if there was a climax for the song since the buildup wasn't all too bad, but with the song being just that.. an instrumental buildup, i don't really see myself getting back to it that much. ALTHOUGHHH the transition of it to INNUENDO (I GET U) was lowkey worth.

overall, i find "U" to be worth the fucking wait. i am not really a huge fan of electropop personally i mean i do enjoy it here and there but it isn't one of my favorite genres, but with underscores' "U", i wouldn't say she changed my perspective on the genre fully but she did put on a fucking show with it. this sounds like the album she has been wanting to make for so long and it is really obvious that she put in so much passion, effort and definitely fun into it. i wouldn't say this is a huge step up from "Wallsocket" since i do prefer the album's ambitious genre blending ideas a lot more. but she definitely has put herself on the map for the electropop genre and does it so well. this is definitely an AOTY contender for me. very cool underscores very cool

FAV TRACKS: TELL ME (U WANT IT), MUSIC, HOLLYWOOD FOREVER, INNUENDO (I GET U), LOVEFIELD, DO IT, BODYFEELING, WISH U WELL

LEAST FAV TRACK: THE PEACE