Underscores - Wallsocket (Director's Cut) [2LP]

underscores' Wallsocket (Director's Cut) expands one of the sharpest concept records of recent years into a deluxe double LP housed in a gatefold jacket.

First released in 2023, the album is set in the fictional town of Wallsocket, Michigan, and follows three girls stumbling toward adulthood amid religion, corporate creep, gun violence and simmering class resentment. Producer and songwriter April Harper Grey built it with help from Gabby Start, Henhouse! and Jane Remover, following her 2021 debut fishmonger with something far more ambitious and cinematic.

The songs veer wildly and deliberately. Singles such as "Cops and Robbers" and "Old Money Bitch" lurch between pop punk guitars, glitchy electronics and confessional songwriting, and the guests add uneasy new textures along the way. Every character gets a voice, and the town itself starts to feel like one more member of the cast.

The Director's Cut adds four more chapters, including "My Guy (Corporate Shuffle)" and the eight-minute "CCTV," which deepen the story rather than simply padding it out. Spread over four sides, the full narrative finally has space to unfold.

For listeners who like their internet-era pop with a full storyline and a pitch-black sense of humour, this edition is the definitive way to visit Wallsocket.