An ambitious polish in every single way, underscores crafts quite the enthralling conceptual masterwork with ‘Wallsocket’.
The conceptualization of the fictitious town of Wallsocket seems to have begun on one of the tracks on underscores’ 2021 EP ‘boneyard aka fearmonger’ with the expanded title of ‘Tongue in cheek: S*nny, I Think the Girl Next Door has a Crush On You!’. That specific track details the perspective of a certain character who has a liking to S*nny, analyzing her behavior and mannerisms as a way to deal with their jealousy of S*nny’s popular reputation around the globe. Accompanied by a hyperpop-infused pop-punk instrumental produced by underscores herself alongside none other than Travis Barker, this sets up a blueprint for the construction of ‘Wallsocket’, underscores’ sophomore project and her first album under the Mom + Pop label.
underscores’ experience in blending hyperpop nestled with various influences of emo and rock expands into something more adventurous, crafting a lot more genre switcheroos with ambitious instrumental ideas along the way. Not just that, the compositions that are carved here are overall impeccable, bringing the best set of melodies underscore has made to date. The hooks on cuts like ‘Cops and robbers’, ‘Johnny johnny johnny’, and ‘Old money bitch’ sticks like flavorful bubblegum amidst the phenomenal set of glitched-out pop rock foundations and strong momentum that makes every chorus dazzling to boot. The brighter field of soundscapes on ‘Seventyseven dog years’ with the midwest emo riffs and country twang combo are tied wondrously around the fuzzy percussion and ‘Shoot to kill, kill your darlings’ with the gun chucking barrage of glitchy beats and robust grooves works to make an oddly shuffling melody, providing enough space for the pedal steel to sleuth in. The translucently haunting ambiance parsing through ‘Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh’ with the choppy vocal samples swirl around the solemn melodies wretch open at the end, both ‘Horror movie soundtrack’ and ‘You don’t even who I am’ where the spare moodiness is implemented marvelously with the darker instrumental and vocal tones giving them even more cutting quality, as well as ‘Good luck final girl’ where the leadups towards the gentle strummings, flourishing violins, and the disintegrating vocal bits are wondrously structured and blended altogether at the end.
The features that tag along in underscores’ project also help out in the razor-sharp quality of these cuts. gabby start’s wobbly expression in the second half adds to the already captivating ‘Locals (girls like us)’, putting enough silly charm to the hyperpop-saturated melodies and insanely sticky shouted chorus lines. henhouse!’s additional verse pierces through on the bonkers 7-minute genre fusion of ‘Geez louise’ with the outstanding transitions from enraged punk rock, toe-tapping country shuffler, and calming folk ambiance that eventually rockets through the end with an engrossing wall of sound. And Jane Remover’s emotive voice makes ‘Uncanny long arms’ even heartwrenching amidst the already crushing melodic refrains and echoing ethereal and fractured effects.
What also shines alongside the wonderfully melodic and instrumental display is the narrative of the three female characters parsing through their day-to-day lives in Wallsocket as underscores’ lyricism peels a lot of their internal conflicts. For S*nny, it’s about her confusing relationship with her religion that ties to her hesitant identity as she experiences unfortunate events in between; from being groomed and stalked, to experiencing a severe illness. For Mara - the character whose perspective was shown in ‘Tongue In Cheek’ - it’s about her gender dysphoria that’s tied to her obsession with other people and money, a few loose threads that feed her fractured identity. And for Old Money Bitch, it’s about the concern of losing her friend in the military as she then struggles with suicide, depression, and the wealth that is carrying her very own feet. The project takes note of how these three characters have to rely upon one’s connections to figure out the solutions to their struggles, especially in middle to upper-class suburban towns like Wallsocket where the only way people can make sense of the situation around them is through the peers that they’re closest to even despite the difference in mindsets. It all leads to the conclusions on ‘Good Luck Final Girl’ as the three girls eventually move away from Wallsocket to find their own freedom, even if it might be a hesitant road ahead. It narrates the various emotional states of each character. In S*nny’s case, she manages to find confidence within herself where she’s now able to not rely on anybody else. For Mara, it’s quite tenuous, she still obsesses with people and money, but the decision to help others shows a glimpse of her growth as a person. But in Old Money Bitch’s case, it’s a heartwrenching scene as that friend of hers sadly passes away and she ends up crying a lot on that train car, something that she hasn’t done for many years now.
‘Wallsocket’ is a case of ambitiousness perfected where underscores’ compositions and songwriting nooks and crannies find a space where they can eventually flourish. And flourish indeed, because underscores’ evokes an abundance of fantastic melodic turnarounds with so many glorious sticky hooks paired with genre-infused combinations of hyperpop, pop rock, midwest emo, and others more that are executed with such wondrous flair, and the conceptual arc revolving around this fictitious small town has a lot of insight and care about finding the answers in enclosed places that do require those connections found despite the differences in their own livelihoods and agendas. Perhaps, even when these connections part ways, the glimpse of growth in the path to finding a better place for themselves will be there with them. Serving as their good luck charm on a journey of inner relief.
Favorite Tracks: ALL OF THEM
Least Favorite Track: ...