# U (Underscores album)
**U** is the third studio album by the American musician underscores, the project of songwriter and producer April Harper Grey, released on March 20, 2026 through the label Mom+Pop. The album runs 9 songs in 34 minutes, contains no guest features, and marks a deliberate turn toward mainstream dance-pop after the genre-mixing of her first two albums, *Fishmonger* (2021) and *Wallsocket* (2023).[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/u/1878382378) • [2](https://www.thefader.com/2026/02/27/underscores-album-announcement-u-tell-me-u-want-it-music-video)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | underscores (April Harper Grey), her third studio album[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/u/1878382378) |
| Released | March 20, 2026 (digital); vinyl and CD on May 15, 2026[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/u/1878382378) • [3](https://www.nme.com/news/music/underscores-announces-new-album-u-3932285) |
| Label | Mom+Pop (catalog number 940)[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/u-mw0004776638) |
| Length and format | 9 tracks, 34 minutes, 0 guest features[2](https://www.thefader.com/2026/02/27/underscores-album-announcement-u-tell-me-u-want-it-music-video) |
| Singles | "Music" (June 2025), "Do It" (November 2025), "Tell Me (U Want It)" (February 2026)[5](https://underscores.bandcamp.com/album/u?from=footer-cc-a3402106845) |
| Cover art | Illustrated by the Japanese artist Ochiai Shohei[6](https://www.thefader.com/2026/03/25/underscores-u-album-cover-illustrator-process-interview) |
| Critical score | 8.6 from Pitchfork, reviewed by Walden Green on March 23, 2026[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/underscores-u/) |
## Background
Grey began releasing music as underscores as a young teenager and built her reputation in the online hyperpop community with *[Fishmonger](https://www.edgepedia.org/fishmonger-album)* (2021) and *Wallsocket* (2023), the latter a genre-bending concept album about a fictional Indiana town.[8](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/underscores-u-interview-3934922) • [9](https://thecounterpoint.org/2026/05/14/u-album-review-underscores-ventures-into-the-mainstream/) By her own account she was exhausted by the layered lore of *Wallsocket* and wanted a record that worked as a defining statement of her approach: storytelling without a single story, leaving room to indulge in the pop sounds she favors. She described the songs as less camouflaged by characters than her earlier writing.[8](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/underscores-u-interview-3934922)
**A mall as the writing room.** The album took shape in commercial public space. While writing *U*, Grey spent time in Stonestown Galleria, a mall in San Francisco, recording voice memos on escalators and drafting lyrics outside high-end storefronts; the FADER profile of the album's artwork calls the mall the record's North Star and a place where the line between everyday life and a dream blurred.[6](https://www.thefader.com/2026/03/25/underscores-u-album-cover-illustrator-process-interview) Grey framed the album's sound around these environments, saying in a press release: "Music for malls, airports, hotels, supermarkets. I wrote these songs for U."[3](https://www.nme.com/news/music/underscores-announces-new-album-u-3932285)
## Music and lyrics
*U* favors electronic sounds over the rock-standard instrumentation of Grey's first two records; a guitar is rare on the album.[9](https://thecounterpoint.org/2026/05/14/u-album-review-underscores-ventures-into-the-mainstream/) Apple Music's editorial description places the boundary-pushing experimentation of her earlier work in a backseat to "the cathartic, adrenaline-heavy rush of pure EDM and computer music," while noting that everything on the album signals to something else and still emerges as its own entity.[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/u/1878382378) Grey herself described the maximalist pop approach as "music for my iPhone spy movie."[3](https://www.nme.com/news/music/underscores-announces-new-album-u-3932285)
The songs are largely about love and desire for music itself. The opener "Tell Me (U Want It)" is built in 12/8 time and combines brostep (aggressive, dubstep-style electronic dance music genre) drops, delayed by half a beat, with a hook saved for the bridge; Pitchfork's review describes it as ending far from where it began, with a stuttering, pixelated coda.[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/underscores-u/) The second track, "Music," opens with the confession "Last night, I had a wet dream about the perfect song" murmured over a hammering, metallic rhythm, and its production has been described as imagining a Skrillex interpretation of a [Timbaland](https://www.edgepedia.org/timbaland) beat.[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/u/1878382378) • [10](https://crackmagazine.net/article/profiles/underscores-interview/) Reviewers noted that the lyrics are simpler than on *Wallsocket*, an essentially love album asking questions like "Do I really like you? Do you really like me?" beneath a relentlessly catchy surface.[9](https://thecounterpoint.org/2026/05/14/u-album-review-underscores-ventures-into-the-mainstream/) Grey agreed in an NME interview that the lyrics can still be vague, but said the songs are less hidden behind characters this time.[8](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/underscores-u-interview-3934922)
## Release and promotion
Grey announced the album in late February 2026, sharing in an Instagram story that it would be 9 songs, 34 minutes long, and have 0 features, alongside the single "Tell Me (U Want It)" and a self-directed music video shot in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco, with an appearance by the producer and artist Jane Remover.[2](https://www.thefader.com/2026/02/27/underscores-album-announcement-u-tell-me-u-want-it-music-video) Two singles had preceded it: "Music" in June 2025 and "Do It" in November 2025, both pointing toward a purer pop direction.[5](https://underscores.bandcamp.com/album/u?from=footer-cc-a3402106845) • [2](https://www.thefader.com/2026/02/27/underscores-album-announcement-u-tell-me-u-want-it-music-video) The album arrived digitally on March 20, 2026, with a physical release on vinyl and CD following on May 15.[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/u/1878382378) • [3](https://www.nme.com/news/music/underscores-announces-new-album-u-3932285) The cover art was made with the Japanese illustrator Ochiai Shohei.[6](https://www.thefader.com/2026/03/25/underscores-u-album-cover-illustrator-process-interview)
After release, Grey joined [Charli XCX](https://www.edgepedia.org/charli-xcx)'s 2026 tour as an opener and released follow-up material in the album's style, including "Unlimited Love" and "The Peace (Frost Children Remix)" in August 2026.[11](https://stereogum.com/tag/underscores)
## Critical reception
Pitchfork awarded the album 8.6, with Walden Green describing Grey as compressing her split personalities and eclectic tastes into "a high-gloss, high-stakes gamble to remake pop on her own terms."[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/underscores-u/) AllMusic lists the record under Electronic and Pop/Rock styles including indie electronic and left-field pop, and notes it was released to widespread acclaim.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/u-mw0004776638) In a later FADER cover story, Grey said of the album, "this is the least poser-y I've felt going into an album so far."[12](https://www.thefader.com/2026/07/14/9-takeaways-from-underscoress-fader-cover-story) The Oberlin College music journalism site The Counterpoint called "Lovefield" the album's highlight, praising its disciplined buildup and its portrayal of new-relationship vulnerability.[9](https://thecounterpoint.org/2026/05/14/u-album-review-underscores-ventures-into-the-mainstream/)
## Track listing
All tracks written by April Harper Grey; Grey handles production, mixing, vocals, and mastering, with Heba Kadry also credited as mastering engineer.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/u-mw0004776638)
1. "Tell Me (U Want It)" – 3:33
2. "Music" – 3:27
3. "Hollywood Forever" – 4:54
4. "[The Peace](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-peace-song)" – 2:49
5. "Innuendo (I Get U)" – 3:28
6. "Lovefield" – 3:52
7. "Do It" – 3:33
8. "Bodyfeeling" – 4:08
9. "Wish U Well" – 4:21
## References
1. [U – Album by underscores, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/u/1878382378)
2. [underscores announces third album, 'U,' her pop pivot, The FADER](https://www.thefader.com/2026/02/27/underscores-album-announcement-u-tell-me-u-want-it-music-video)
3. [Underscores announces new album 'U', NME](https://www.nme.com/news/music/underscores-announces-new-album-u-3932285)
4. [Underscores: U Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/u-mw0004776638)
5. [U | underscores, Bandcamp](https://underscores.bandcamp.com/album/u?from=footer-cc-a3402106845)
6. [This is how underscores's album cover of U was made, The FADER](https://www.thefader.com/2026/03/25/underscores-u-album-cover-illustrator-process-interview)
7. [underscores: U Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/underscores-u/)
8. [Underscores: "I'm trying to restore my relationship with making music", NME](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/underscores-u-interview-3934922)
9. [U album review: underscores ventures into the mainstream, The Counterpoint](https://thecounterpoint.org/2026/05/14/u-album-review-underscores-ventures-into-the-mainstream/)
10. [Dream Architecture: underscores on building her third album, 'U', Crack Magazine](https://crackmagazine.net/article/profiles/underscores-interview/)
11. [underscores Archives, Stereogum](https://stereogum.com/tag/underscores)
12. [9 takeaways from underscores's FADER cover story, The FADER](https://www.thefader.com/2026/07/14/9-takeaways-from-underscoress-fader-cover-story)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Electronic and dance albums › Ambient and experimental electronic albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license