UnderscoresJust a few days before she kicks off her first-ever Australian tour, Underscores (aka April Harper Grey) has returned with a biting new single called My guy (Corporate shuffle).
It’s the first official release to follow up on her critically adored second album, Wallsocket (which arrived last September via Mom+Pop), however hardcore fans might recognise My guy as one of three bonus songs “hidden” within the online ARG (alternate reality game) that accompanied the album’s release.
Another one of those tracks, Midwest zombie girl, has become a staple of Grey’s live set, so here’s hoping that also gets an official release soon.
In the meantime, Grey explained in a press release that My guy was originally written as one of the earliest songs for Wallsocket, but ended up being swapped out for the Gabby Start-assisted Locals (Girls like us) – which went on to be the album’s biggest single, and helped break Underscores in the Australian market.
My guy arrives alongside a music video directed and edited by Ayodeji (with Grey credited as creative director), featuring cameo appearances by the likes of Gabby Start, Elena Fortune, Umru, Henhouse! and Torr. Have a look at the clip below:
Grey’s first tour of Australia will kick off in Perth (Boorloo) this Saturday (June 1), with gigs also lined up in Brisbane (Meanjin), Melbourne (Naarm) and Sydney (Eora). Head here for more info on the whole run.
Meanwhile, last week saw Grey release the Soundcloud-exclusive EP Covergirl, comprising four note-for-note remakes of demos released by Sonny Moore (aka Skrillex) in 2010. The demos themselves – Father Said, Lustbug, Turmoil and Ocean – were deleted by Moore just months after he posted them on MySpace page, but they were ripped by diehard fans and subsequently found a cult following. Grey has long cited Moore as a major influence on the music she’s released as Underscores and Milkfish.
Upon releasing Wallsocket, Grey said of the narrative that drives it: “I emerged from an obsessive episode adopting this mentality that everything is beautiful. Wallsocket is about realising that most things are, but not everything is. Wallsocket is about navigating adulthood as an American and reckoning with one’s circumstance.”
