Reviews may call it unforgiving and harsh, maximalist and blown-out, high-pitched and squeaky, electronic and glitchy. While these terms are sometimes applicable, the genre of hyperpop’s most defining aspect is undeniably its indefinability.

Though the phrase has been around since the late 80s, and hallmarks of the genre’s current state can be found across SoundCloud gems from the early 2010s, this bold subsect of pop music wasn’t truly consolidated into a uniform with stylistic traits until four to five years ago, when primed ether finally met a lit fuse. Commonly cited to the 2019 release of the debut record from a duo called 100 gecs, the hyperpop boom was an unstoppable wildfire of musical innovation. Taking advantage of the internet age, hyperpop laid its abrasive but warm blanket over millions of ears, encouraging masses of producers and musicians to try out a new sound.

Wading through copycats and sellouts, countless talents morphed the genre into their own unique sound and style, in what became the fastest evolution of a genre I have ever witnessed.

The queer community in particular took a strong liking to the genre’s tendency to be defined completely differently by each artist producing under it, which helped widen the umbrella to create a welcoming and comforting space for all types of listeners.

There’s no easy way to understand hyperpop without trying out a handful of songs, so I’ve consolidated a brief list of what I believe to be the most important queer hyperpop artists, as well as some of their best tracks to help you get started in the oh-so-deep ocean of the genre.

SOPHIE

Before her untimely passing in 2021, SOPHIE was an unstoppable trans icon in the world of electronic music. Bursting into the scene with early singles like “Nothing More to Say,” and “BIPP,” SOPHIE presented an undeniably innovative path for pop and EDM music.

The aforementioned “BIPP” was the first of the fan-dubbed “slide singles,” a series of tracks each released with a different colorful image of a slide on the cover. The sounds on “BIPP” are difficult to put into words; it toys with pitch-bent slides, water-drop sound effects, pitch-shifted vocals, high-passed pads and more to create a beautifully playful amalgamation. Featuring no “drop” of any kind, and lacking a standard verse-chorus song structure, “BIPP” was SOPHIE demonstrating her refusal to conform to sonic normalcies.

Three years after the slide singles, SOPHIE released her debut album, “OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES.” Across nine songs, SOPHIE dialed her developing sound to the maximum and minimum, showing off lush pop ballads and unbelievably hard-hitting electronic-pop bangers. “Faceshopping,” the third track on the album, is my personal favorite, being one of the hardest songs I’ve ever heard.

Arguably SOPHIE’s most industrial song to date, “Faceshopping” implements loads of metallic bits of percussion, which get buried underneath a pummeling synth bass. In the middle of the song’s relentless energy, everything drops away, and the empty space is filled with a beautiful vocal melody overtop a series of fizzling pads. Eventually, the calm breaks, and the listener is shot back into an amplified version of the song’s initial segment, which knocks even harder than before.

Choosing the next song was especially difficult. I’d love to include the bubblegum-bass progenitor which is “Immaterial,” or the nine-minute epic of “Whole New World/Pretend World,” but I chose to instead include a song by a different artist all together. SOPHIE didn’t just dominate her scene through singles and albums. She made waves in the music space with production credits on various projects, working with Charli XCX, Lady Gaga, Vince Staples and more.

“Yeah Right” was produced by SOPHIE and Flume from rapper Vince Staples’ 2017 experimental electronic/hip-hop fusion album. If you listen to the track after hearing “Faceshopping,” the similarities and signs of SOPHIE’s sounds are obvious. It features her typical industrial drums and booming bass hits, as well as a surprise feature from modern hip-hop legend Kendrick Lamar, making for one of the most exciting hip-hop songs of the year.

Hints of her instantly recognizable blend of industrial twangs and sugary synths can be found on just about any hyperpop song today, as well as various more radio-friendly synth-pop songs. While not exactly paralleled with modern hyperpop sounds, her work in the electronic field alongside names like Hannah Diamond and A.G. Cook laid undeniable groundwork as the progenitor for the next generation.

100 gecs

The duo of Dylan Brady and Laura Les truly surprised the internet with a refined yet sonically destroyed version of electronic pop. Boasting under 1000 monthly listeners prior to the release of their debut album, 100 gecs became an internet-wide sensation when their song “Money Machine” got whisked away by the winds of TikTok.

Combining internet humor, catchy pitched vocals and a ripping instrumental, their breakout hit is their most streamed song to date. It opens with some very internet-y lines before delivering a head-bopping bassline and synth melody. It’s a remarkably simplistic song which displays the duo’s expert understanding of what made SOPHIE and Hannah Diamond’s work so compelling.

My next pick is the 100 gecs remix of CMTEN and Glitch Gum’s TikTok hit “NEVER MET!” Personally, I find the original version of the song to be bland, overly simplistic and boring overall, but the 100 gecs remix breathes astounding life into the track. Picking up the tempo, adding a mesmerizing piano, reworking the entire instrumental and adding a vocal passage from both members, this technically shortened version is beyond catchy. Laura Les starting her verse playing off Glitch Gum’s reference to the gecs member is awesome, and Dylan Brady’s brief closing passage is a reminder of how under-utilized his voice is within their discography.

After hyperpop boomed following the explosion of “Money Machine” and 100 gecs’ debut album, listeners everywhere were rife with anticipation for a sophomore LP from the duo. Surprisingly, it didn’t come for another four long years, releasing in March of 2023. This choice proved to be for the better, as it allowed for the hyperpop hype to die down, and for people to move on from the sound which 100 gecs paved. Instead of returning with a record filled with the same sounds right out the gate, they chose to wait, and eventually provided a sonically diverse follow up.

Whether it’s the “Sicko Mode” sample on “Dumbest Girl Alive,” the ska grooves of “I Got My Tooth Removed,” or the pop-punk callback of “Hollywood Baby,” there’s lots to love on the project.

Most interesting for this framework of the evolution of hyperpop specifically is “757,” the second song on the album. Having been in their live sets for quite some time before the album’s release, “757” was a fan favorite for a while. It has similar synths to those which are present across their debut, but the sonic palette demonstrates audible growth. Taking advantage of a fantastic beat switch, the song enters a darker, harder-hitting passage, utilizing autotuned vocals as an instrument, and sampling a Star Wars blaster sound effect to make for a catchy final product.

Jane Remover

Releasing her debut album at just 18 years old, Jane Remover shook up the scene by blending elements of rock, shoegaze and noise with the typical electronic sounds of hyperpop. This release immediately placed her at the forefront of the genre as a pioneer, and as she’s been releasing singles for her upcoming album, she has continued to push the boundary of what can be considered hyperpop.

“homeswitcher” is the introductory track to Janes’ 2021 EP “Teen Week.” Featuring guest vocals from kmoe, the track is an undeniable banger which follows a semi-typical hyperpop format. At the core of the song is a whining synth lead which performs most of the songs’ melodies at varying levels of prominence, sometimes being drowned out by breakbeat drums or fuzzy bass hits. While far from groundbreaking, the song is feverishly catchy, and makes for one of the biggest bangers in her catalog.

“movies for guys,” a nearly six minute opus from her first album “Frailty,” comes as the first demonstration of Janes’ blending of hyperpop and heavy noise rock. The song hides racing synths underneath a catchy melody and a pumping beat, before chopping it all away and moving into a silent bridge. After a fuzzy vocal queue, a thick wall of noise takes over, which after a beautiful stint of piano, is blended with hard hitting acoustic drums. This immense passage leads to a mellowed out closing section, which features a catchy guitar riff and sleepy but meaningful vocals from Jane. All together these segments make up a sonic journey which stands out within the genre to this day.

“Lips” is a recent single from Janes’ upcoming album, and across six minutes it contains swirling guitars, notably improved vocals and a booming climax. Moving farther towards the shoegaze sounds found on songs like “movies for guys” and “Royal Blue Walls,” the track features few hallmarks of typical hyperpop. Despite this, it is instantly recognizable as a Jane Remover song, due to glitchy transitional passages and the noisy drums which explode towards the track’s final minutes; after a long passage of light plucks, a loud and fuzzy guitar begins to blare before the vocals drop out entirely and are replaced with a brutal drum beat. Sonically, “Lips” is almost unrecognizable next to a song like “homeswitcher,” making for an outstanding display of artistic development.

underscores

23-year-old April Grey, also known as underscores, has been producing music since she was just six. Releasing her first music under the underscores moniker in 2013, it took eight years for her to put out her debut album, “fishmonger.” It was well worth the wait, as just like her contemporary Jane, the project immediately set her apart from the pack. At just ten songs and 33 minutes, the album stretches the conventions of hyperpop to their limits, enabling her to find pockets where the sound could be pushed further.

The third track on “fishmonger,” titled “Bozo bozo bozo,” is the song that made me fall in love with underscores. The song opens with a light guitar melody which gets smashed away by a handful of digital sounds. Almost like it doesn’t want to overstay its welcome, the instrumentation gets dropped completely, and swapped with an even softer guitar and some pitched vocals. Before this low-key segment gets any time to breathe, a chorus of vocals join in, yelling with urgency, before getting wiped away by an almost scary wash of noise, which disappears just as suddenly as it arrived, returning to the initial handful of electronics.

When this verse segment drops a second time for the same light guitar melody, the listener can hear a faint pluck racing along underneath, which slowly begins to swell. The noisy wash is nowhere to be found this time around, and as the pluck gets louder and louder, turning into a synth lead, a beautiful vocal run emerges, before it all gets washed away one final time, returning to the chorus.

The song has no typical drop or breakdown section, instead favoring a back-and-forth between remarkably compelling verses and chorus passages. Upon my first listen I was genuinely frustrated that the immense swelling didn’t lead to any type of explosive drop, but after more listens, the cat and mouse game of “Bozo bozo bozo” has left me addicted.

Following the release of her first album, underscores put out a pack of b-sides that were cut from the initial release, titled “boneyard aka fearmonger.” The highlight here is undeniably “Tongue in cheek,” a pounding pop-punk song with a catchy melody and some absolutely ripping drums performed by Travis Barker of Blink-182. The song goes through a pretty standard verse passage laid over top of a distorted guitar and the aforementioned drums, but when the song drops into an ambient bridge is when it really starts to come online. As the drums are slowly filtered in, they suddenly begin to blast alongside a blaring guitar, both of which are distorted beyond belief. The two go on a tear for the remaining minute of the song, both getting more and more intense, before suddenly cutting away, allowing the song to end. It’s a fantastic blend of punk and hyperpop, and the co-sign from a pop-punk veteran makes it all the more enjoyable.

Just a couple weeks ago on Sept. 22, underscores released their long-awaited full length album “Wallsocket,” a concept album which makes an allegory out of the story of a wealthy celebrity, an obsessive fan and a criminal father. It is genuinely difficult to pick a song for this list, as the project is packed full of fascinating songs.

Stepping away from the sounds she already pushed to their brink on her last album cycle, “Wallsocket” implements guitars and drums left and right, forming a sizeable handful of allusions to different genres. If I was recommending a song which sounds the most like a typical underscores hyperpop song (as typical as that can get), I would say to listen to “Locals (Girls like us).”

But to pick a single recommendation from the entire album, it would be the third track, “Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” This song is more mellow than anything underscores has put out before. It features stunning vocals performing a heart-wrenching but catchy melody, with lyrics about a not-so debilitating illness which the character is trying to come to terms with. I won’t spoil this song for you, as it’s best heard fresh, but I will say it is undeniably powerful, especially when heard in the context of her discography. It’s the first song of hers that sounds like this, but on this wonderful album, it isn’t the last.

On underscores’ brand new album, and judging by the singles from Jane Remover’s upcoming album, the hyperpop genre’s biggest pioneers are stepping away from the hallmark sounds which they used to make a name for themselves.

Despite these signs that the genre as we know it may be coming to a close, these artistic movements are indicators of time well spent. It’s a sign of progress in the same vein that attracted these anti-conformity powerhouses to the genre in the first place.

Andrew C. Freeman can be reached at [email protected]