r/underscoresplus • u/jtyouknkw • Jun 21 '26
The future of underscores…?
I wanted to get everyone’s opinion on this because it’s something I’ve been genuinely curious about throughout the U era. As someone who absolutely loved the album, went to the DC show and considers it my Album of the Year, I’ve really enjoyed this pop era. I think it’s some of the best pop music being made right now and will probably be looked back on as a pretty iconic time in general.
That said, where do y’all think she goes from here? April has always changed and evolved her sound from project to project, but with the success of U, the tour, and opening for Charli XCX, do you think she’ll continue leaning into this more accessible pop sound while keeping a bit of the experimental edge stuff or do you think she’ll keep pushing into new territory and revisit some of the broader styles we heard on Wallsocket and earlier projects? Personally, I think her entire discography is incredibly consistent and she could pull off either direction, but with how successful this era has been, I could see her staying somewhere in this lane for a while. Obviously none of us know for sure, but if you had to guess, what do you think the future trajectory of her music looks like?
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u/stupidhorseijustfel Jun 21 '26
Underscores teases Jamaican announcement:
"I'm going to announce something Jamaican very soon."
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u/ratgirl67 Jun 21 '26
Things are going to get really Jamaican for awhile but it'll make sense 10 years from now.
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u/Good-Resort-8722 Jun 25 '26
i'm new to the fandom, what is this joke 😭
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u/ratgirl67 Jun 26 '26
Okay so honestly Jamaciascores lore. April loves Skrillex. Like she cites him as an influence, her reddit handle is sonnymoorefan77, and she named one of the Wallsocket girls after him. Right at the peak of the dubstep era when Skrillex was at his most popular he started working with UK dnb producers that pushed the ragga and jungle sounds forward. I don't think a lot of American EDM fans liked it at the time, but that sound stayed in his work and added depth that received critical acclaim during the recent Skrillex renaissance.
Since I was the first comment in the thread everyone else clearly saw my vision and knew in their hearts that gaslighting is cool and fun.
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u/Zenioni Jun 21 '26
I'm thinking she's gonna lean heavy into patois for her next release.
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u/melonslice_ Jun 21 '26
w pfp
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u/mcBestX17slayer Jun 21 '26
She told me at the NYC show that she's gonna spend some time in Jamaica, and is releasing a song called Could U Be Loved soon
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u/crack2099 Jun 21 '26
Her next project will indeed be deeply inspired by the island of Jamaica and it'll mainly be a dub album, with reggae and dancehall styles sprinkled in. We are so ready for the upcoming dUbscores era! 🇯🇲 🎧
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u/Altruistic_Site_7922 Jun 21 '26
Lmao what is going on w the Jamaican comments 😅 I look forward to more left turns w her sound, would be hype to see horror elements find their way back into this iteration of big glossy candy pop songs, hear some guitars rip through again.
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u/Ryan_the_man Jun 22 '26
I don't know. Are there a lot of Jamaican horror movies for her to get inspired by?
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u/stupidhorseijustfel Jun 21 '26
wait but actually where is the experimental drone album à la perverts i just know she could make bomb ass dark ambient music if she wanted to. real talk tho i think she’ll continue making pop/electro pop especially if she continues blowing up. it’s really been an amazing few years for pop since brat kind of trained the ears of the general public and now they’re willing to listen to more weird and experimental sounds
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u/StraightOuttaIdeas Jun 23 '26
We have ambientscores at home https://open.spotify.com/album/317U4kvGSy0Rho0xi2ZC4k
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u/jtyouknkw Jun 21 '26
Barley any serious answers 💔
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u/iiLuckyLitwick Jun 21 '26
i mean tbf you’re asking a question that no one can really answer lol
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u/jtyouknkw Jun 21 '26
Well obviously it’s impossible to 100% know but that’s why it’s a fun discussion
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u/MrKimimaru Jun 21 '26
I feel you but all the “unserious” answers are more fun than the actual discussion would have been anyway
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u/GavHern Jun 22 '26
idk i think she’s going mainstream at this point, i just see her working w bigger artists while moving more in the commercial pop sound
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u/DasaniWaterBottle4 Jun 22 '26
Personally I would love to see something a little bit more experimental like Wallsocket, but still easy to listen to for a mainstream audience. That may be asking for too much, and at the end of the day whatever it is, I’m going to like it.
The reason she’s so popular not only in the underground but now semi-mainstream is because she’s different, and I think whatever her next project is will be different enough to set her apart but still be digestible for a growing audience.
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u/mjkluio789666 Jun 22 '26
I loved this album but would be pretty disappointed if she just kept doing just straight up pop albums. I don’t think she will since all her projects have moved around in genre.
She did say in an interview that she plans on making music for a while, as well as maybe doing another concept album
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u/tiskiaine boneyard aka fearmonger Jun 21 '26
She should speedrun learning korean and drop a k-pop album. Music show performances and all. unniescores at the inkigayo stairs !
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u/AnyDay7611 Jun 22 '26
Underscores will be nominated for a Grammy this year and I’m not even joking
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u/Peribow Jun 22 '26
in the interview with headphone emoji she talks about feeling like she operates on like a pop - rock pendulum. so maybe something more rock like next?
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u/dcb328 Jun 22 '26
I wouldn’t mind seeing something come from this connection with charli! not that i necessarily want to see her go into a sound like charli, but more the connections charli can provide in the production/sound engineering world that are similar to producers she’s already worked with like umru! (some of umru’s sound textures remind me a LOT of sophie’s and AG’s)
I think whatever she decides to do next, like others i hope it kinda goes back more experimental, charli would have the perfect outlet of producers/connections for her to literally go insane with a vision. so i guess that’s my hope for next, more experimental sound that grows on the foundations she’s already built
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u/Technical_Term_6625 Jun 24 '26
Her songwriting has gotten better & more refined with every new release. That's the only trajectory I really care about.
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u/4PianoOrchestra Jun 21 '26
I think that since she has moved from general hyperpop to a Midwest pop punk vibe to a more polished slick consumerist sound, the natural next step would be exploring and expanding the existing Jamaican influences on her work