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After being thoroughly impressed with underscores' 2023 album Wallsocket, I immediately went back to their debut in the hopes of finding more great material. The first time I threw it on back then, I remember not really thinking much of it at the time. I decided to revisit it again this month and really take the time to digest it; a good idea considering I came away from it with much more positive feelings. In fact, the collage of alternative rock and pop genres mixed with harsh digital aesthetics and aggressively tuned vocals reminded me of a more understated 1000 gecs; an album that was largely responsible for tapping me into the excitable world of hyperpop. While not as intensely obnoxious as the gecs, April Harper Grey's (underscores) music has a much broader sonic palette, more insightful songwriting, and a thoughtful approach to album crafting. This is evidenced once again on fishmonger through its use of reoccurring samples and consistent lyrical themes around celebrity.
My two clear standouts from the project are Second hand embarrassment and Your favourite sidekick. The former has a really catchy pop-punk chord progression played on a muted acoustic guitar. The beat is made up of hip-hop hats and claps, and while the pattern is fairly straightforward, it locks in with the guitar's start-stop rhythm to enhance the song's catchy appeal. The instrumental loops without much variation, however, the character of Grey's vocals is constantly changing as we move from one section to the next. Shifting from dry whispers, to a cutesy chipmunk, to a bass accented muffle is a really neat way to communicate a sense of progression when all the other elements seemingly repeat. In the end, we do get a pretty rocking final chorus that is quite exciting, even if it only lasts for thirteen seconds. Your favourite sidekick hooks me instantly from the get go. We have a sparse beat that gives space to these dancing, popcorn synths that sound awesome. At the end of each phrase though, we get these knocking kick booms that add a nice bit of hyperpop intensity. I also love the vocals from Grey and 8485, who both come through with some irresistible harmonies. This track coincidentally also comes to an urgent pop-punk conclusion with distorted guitars and an uptempo beat.
I also really enjoyed Kinko's field trip 2006 and Dry land 2001 which both have similar elements; bouncing back and forth between quiet, dry verses and noisy, shoegaze passages. I especially love the chorus of Kinko's field trip 2006 thanks to the heavily distorted and sharply tuned vocals. In the case of Dry land 2001, it goes off into a fairly serene ambient section with docile guitars, watery synth flourishes, and some nature rustling. The final two tracks leave things on a fairly relaxed note, but still, these two emo, guitar-forward tracks display a great deal of musicianship from Grey, especially on Del mar county fair 2008 where the guitar is surprisingly intricate. I can see these tracks being sleeper candidates.
The only tracks that underwhelmed me were 70% and Where did you fall. I really like the noisy energy coming from this tune as well as the twangy slide guitars coming from the former. However, the instrumental interruptions to deliver some unhinged vocal performances (á la Liam Lynch's United States of Whatever) I found to be very annoying. Where did you fall also has elements that I enjoy, like the syncopated, broken beat and the skittering electronics. But again, I'm not really impressed with the vocals on this cut. I also feel like this track is an energetic low point that remains stagnant over the course of its three and a half minute runtime. Other than these two tracks, fishmonger is a very solid project. It definitely sounds like it was conceived in the bedroom and on a budget when you compare it to Wallsocket's expansive sound and immersive world building. Although, Grey's debut as underscores clearly demonstrates that the ambition, the ideas, and the statement of intent were all there right from the beginning.