underscores's U arrives as a lean, hyperpop-minded bid for pop stardom that balances glamour with intimacy, and critics largely agree it succeeds. Across five professional reviews, the record earned an 86/100 consensus score, with reviewers pointing to a streamlined production approach that foregrounds songwriting craf
“Lovefield” is the emotional standout because it reaches for intimacy and human connection amid spectacle.
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Full consensus notes
underscores's U arrives as a lean, hyperpop-minded bid for pop stardom that balances glamour with intimacy, and critics largely agree it succeeds. Across five professional reviews, the record earned an 86/100 consensus score, with reviewers pointing to a streamlined production approach that foregrounds songwriting craftsmanship and emotional clarity over the sprawling maximalism of earlier work.
Reviewers consistently flag “Bodyfeeling”, “Do It”, “Tell Me (U Want It)” and “Music” as the best songs on U, praising their jittery electro-pop hooks, dance-floor immediacy and nods to late 90s/00s R&B. Critics from NME and Paste celebrate the album's festival-ready punch and choreography-ready immediacy, while The Guardian and The A.V. Club highlight Grey's knack for restraint-and-release - moments like “The Peace” and “Wish U Well” provide emotional ballast amid glossy production.
While some reviews note a deliberate narrowing from previous maximal experiments, that shift is framed as refinement rather than retreat: reviewers say the record trades excess for focus, interrogating themes of isolation, fame, parasocial relationships, sex and heartbreak with sharper pop craft. The critical consensus suggests U is both a statement of pop ambition and a demonstration of growth, a compact collection where standout tracks emerge as proof that underscores can turn chaos-prone quirks into precise, crowd-ready hits. Scroll down for full reviews and track-by-track notes that unpack where the record shines and where its pared-back direction provokes debate.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Bodyfeeling
4 mentions
"Later, in earnest, she confesses on ‘Bodyfeeling’ that she’s just not prepared to give it all up"— New Musical Express (NME)
Do It
4 mentions
"Bodyfeeling or Do It are the kind of songs other pop artists would happily pay vast teams of professional songwriters vast sums of money for."— The Guardian
The Peace
4 mentions
"the latter a song you can somehow imagine set to distorted guitars, rather than its beatless, Imogen Heap-ish assemblage of sampled voices."— The Guardian
Bodyfeeling or Do It are the kind of songs other pop artists would happily pay vast teams of professional songwriters vast sums of money for.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Tell Me (U Want It)
Music
Hollywood Forever
The Peace
Innuendo (I Get U)
Lovefield
Do It
Bodyfeeling
Wish U Well
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 5 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
underscores makes a feverish case with U, where the best tracks - “Tell Me (U Want It)” and “Lovefield” - act as emotional anchors amid touring chaos. The record trades Wallsocket's mapped mockumentary for diaristic, tabloid-ish bangers, and on “Tell Me (U Want It)” Grey's paranoia reads like popstar microfiche while “Lovefield” reaches through the screen for intimacy. Elsewhere, “Do It” and “Bodyfeeling” complicate fame with bristling, business-minded detachment, so searches for the best songs on U find both spectacle and ache. This is hyperpop made for malls, airports and hotels, a production tour-de-force that still leaves a human pulse at its center.
Key Points
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“Lovefield” is the emotional standout because it reaches for intimacy and human connection amid spectacle.
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The album’s core strengths are high-octane production, diaristic lyricism, and an incisive portrayal of celebrity-induced isolation.
Themes
Critic's Take
underscores channels a lean, mean pop ambition on U, where the best tracks like “Music”, “Tell Me (U Want It)” and “Bodyfeeling” crystallize that move toward pure pop stardom. Andy Steiner’s prose relishes the shift - noting how singles become jittery electro-pop bangers and how hooks and attitude outshine glitch for maximum impact. He highlights “Bodyfeeling” as a surprising, normie-ready stomper that proves Grey can make pure pop, and praises “The Peace” for its restraint and release as some of her most emotive production. The result is an album that sells the idea of pop celebrity while admitting that scale and ambition are intentionally narrower than on wallsocket.
Key Points
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The best song, "Bodyfeeling", succeeds by finally letting underscores make pure pop and proving her aptitude for straightforward, stomping hooks.
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U's core strength is streamlined, dense pop craftsmanship that prioritizes hooks, style, and performative pop-star attitude.
Themes
Critic's Take
underscores’ lean-eyed bid for pop stardom on U is all about maximal hooks and tight production, and the best tracks make that case plainly. The singles “Music”, “Do It”, and “Tell Me (U Want It)” are jittery, 8-bit, electro-pop hits that land like Britney-era Blackout glamour filtered through underscores’ chaos-prone quirks. Moments like “Bodyfeeling” reveal her willingness to write pure pop, trading genre bluster for immediacy and dance-floor payoff. The record often favors choreography-ready immediacy over sprawling concept, while moments of restraint-and-release give it emotional lift. Ultimately, U convinces as a festival-ready record where the best songs prioritize impact and choreography over sprawling concept.
Key Points
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The best song is driven by concise, maximal pop production and immediate hooks, exemplified by singles like "Music" and the surprise of "Bodyfeeling".
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The album’s core strengths are streamlined, impact-first songwriting, confident pop starcraft, and tight, dance-ready arrangements.
Themes
Critic's Take
In his review, Matthew Kim writes that Underscores' U is a nine-track, featureless assembly of sensual love songs where the best tracks - like “The Peace” and “Wish U Well” - lock into a focused, immediate pop identity. He praises how U zooms in on intimacy and presents hits that are both joyous and heartfelt, noting the album’s Justin-Timberlake-and-Timbaland-esque swagger alongside mid-2010s dubstep jitteriness. Kim frames the record as Underscores’s most consistent and rounded work, singling out moments of lament on “Lovefield” and the heart-rending close of “Wish U Well” as evidence of its emotional reach. The result, he argues, is a compact, robust album of second-person love songs that both celebrates and complicates fame and romance.
Key Points
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The best song, “Wish U Well”, is the album’s emotional center and a heart-rending finale.
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U’s core strengths are its focused second-person love songs, tight production, and blend of nostalgic pop swagger with genuine feeling.
Themes
Critic's Take
underscores pares back some of her earlier maximalism on U, and the result is songs that breathe and land harder. The review puts a bright spotlight on “Bodyfeeling” and “Do It”, arguing these tracks showcase Grey's pop-writing chops and inventiveness. Alexis Petridis praises the album's late 90s/00s R&B nods while noting she still cloaks them in AutoTune, dubstep electronics and playful sonic overload. For listeners asking about the best songs on U, the critic recommends “Bodyfeeling” and “Do It” as exemplars of the record's blend of craft and maximalist flair.
Key Points
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The reviewer singles out “Bodyfeeling” as a best song for revealing Grey's songwriting amid reduced maximalism.
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U's core strength is fusing late 90s/00s R&B influences with modern production while showcasing Grey's craft as writer-producer.