underscores - fishmonger Review

MAKING SENSE OF VIRAL SENSELESSNESS

Fellow millennials, the zoomers are here. Prepare yourself for conscious schizophrenia, with diamonds glistening in the garbled rough. Provocation is key, divisiveness stands to gain the most when influential social media circles drive consumers like a moth to flame. FOMO, they call it. The fear of missing out. 100 gecs' reputation lies solely in the hands of this phenomenon, as their maniac éclat angers, excites, but above all else; intrigues. The term post-irony used to be mocked relentlessly for its pretentious finger trap. Now it's inarguable, as meme culture has infested the youth and their rabbit hole interests, coming up with feckless combinations for the sake of drawing attention to oneself. underscores' debut walks this fine line, balancing absurdity with affection, brazen bombast with keen introspection. Above all else, fishmonger works because it's overwhelmingly enjoyable, not from one angle or two, but a dozen simultaneously.

At first, it's hard to digest. But that's expected, especially with openers such as '70%' that try, intently, to alienate any fanbase approaching wearingly. Panicked Lo-Fi mannerisms siphoned through Country Rock twinge. The catchiness comes not from the indecipherable vocals, but the unnatural structuring which loops frantically from bridge to hook, skipping all the fluff in-between. In fact, a great deal of underscores' intoxication arrives through these blurred lines, where unexpected twists give way to disturbed spectacles. Take 'Second hand embarrassment,' a mighty Bedroom Pop single that shreds its acoustics by tracks end with intrusive Pop Rock. The crunchy bravado reemerges on 'Kinko's field trip 2006,' fused with chipmunk vocals and disorienting stopgaps, and 'Dry land 2001,' which distills such abrasion into a panoramic Ambient showcase, replete with chirping birds and New Age wind flutes. Needless to say, underscores' idiosyncrasies rely heavily on juxtaposition.

Though the similarities to 1000 gecs is there (namely the unstoppable Nightcore of 'Spoiled little brat'), that's only half fishmonger's equation. The other emerges in the tenderness found flourishing in Brockhampton deep cuts, of which underscore clearly has an affinity towards. Flower Boy influences can be spotted as well. This can best be heard on 'Where did you fall' and the final couplet; 'The fish song' and 'Del Mar country fair 2008.' Each of these showcase underscores' delicate and pliable singing voice, a welcomed surprise considering the tendencies of evisceration that dominated fishmonger's first half. There is no ironic folly on display here, as stripped down Indie Rock takes shapes through lush landscapes and strangely beautiful lyrics. Sure, the closer incorporates some classic Bubblegum Bass farts and growing Lo-Fi sensations, but the emotion is still genuine and touching. Get mad at the self-awareness all you want, though underscores isn't quite there yet, there's no denying "this is the wave of the future.'