With a Trello board down and a blind grab at an endless list of emails, out comes Underscores’ latest efforts on Wallsocket. Blind luck leads to the best of albums at times. It is why it is impossible to speak of a work without listening to it. Love it or hate it, here are the thoughts, and for Wallsocket, this electronic indie trip was a real and rare treat. This is a band finding their footing and with that comes a sense of risk, a journey through this near-hour piece showcases it. Frenetic and energetic in as grand and upbeat a way as possible, the low fuzz underscoring opener Cops and robbers brings about a sense of familiarity which prompts a two-hour break from work. It is as though being absorbed by the whistling fragility of an opening song on a sophomore record is enough to remind someone to slap a pizza in the oven and have a snooze on the couch.
Wake yourself up then with Wallsocket. Disturbing repetition on Locals (Girls like us) is exceptional – the repetition of body, bones and skin at the start leads to a relentless and unremitting power-pop construction. One of the best this year will see. Electro pangs and sharp mixing which make this linger along the front row of a DJ set of calculated noises bring out the best in Wallsocket. Everybody has bad days and there is always tomorrow, repeating and whirring away to the opening of You don’t even know who I am, sets a flickering and tense interaction. They know your siblings and loved ones but you know not a thing – the great divide between attention and attitude. But the repetition of a phone call and hang-up noise underneath becomes a bit of a headache. Repetition comes through with the best intentions from Underscores, though sometimes is their worst detractor.
Repetitive piece Johnny johnny johnny is a key example. An obvious opposite comes about on Horror movie soundtrack, a piece which takes to tender acoustics and does away with the electronic repetition which makes for such a warm and inviting, if repetitive, occurrence. Still, Underscores know when to hit pause and take it to a calmer playing field – they still manage to surge through some manipulation of their background with ominous churns underlying it all. It could never be straightforward, what is the point of that? Wallsocket is a sincerely solid album with its hands on the throat of its listeners, pleading with them to settle down and engage the whirring, constant noise. Do so, and be rewarded with sharp and effective work from Underscores.
Thinly veiled throws at the aristocrats and well-funded on Old money bitch hit well and have the bouncy pop style needed to see it and its message through. Geez louise has some scratching, screeching electronics that sound wonderful and disorienting, well-matched to the steady percussion and claps thumping the whole way through. Wallsocket is a sharp and harsh listen, a thorough and exciting experience which is easy to lose yourself in but easier still to extract yourself from. Album closer Good luck final girl colours in the final touches needed to give Underscores an exceptional second record. It has a looser structure than first thought, the electronic powerhouse coming and going, replaced sometimes by distortion and brief flutters with acoustic works. A neat balance is struck and serves Underscores, and their listeners, well.
