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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
He's spoken of feeling trapped and frustrated, but the 21-year-old wunderkind has channelled his struggles into a jubilant collection of hope-laced tunes.
90
A beautiful new offering, ‘Pony’ is equal parts heart wrenching and hopeful, and shows Rex back at his very finest.
85
Through his own unique artistry, Rex has created an album that is wonderfully creative. This third album cements his status as a nascent national treasure.
80
His previous self-released work featured a lot of youthful optimism, and Pony is a matured evolution of this. He’s successfully maintained his signature spirited and upbeat sound but delivered it in a fresh and un-sickly package.
80
It is easily one of the most interesting and exciting pop records of the year.
80
He’s redrew his own boundaries and added new dimensions to his repertoire without sacrificing the sense of intimacy that made his output so compelling in the first place.
80
His unique pop prosody and production skills, more sophisticated than ever in Pony, foretell that his sound will continue progressing to new creative heights, with the heft of catchy pop music and the inventiveness of its growing indie subgenre.
70
Both likeable and ambitious, Pony showcases O'Connor's abilities, bringing together emotionally candid lyrics with jazz-informed arrangements, accented with horns, strings, and even a children's choir.
60
The 21-year-old singer-songwriter lays out his struggles with commitment and fake friends over hip-hop inflected nerdy piano pop.
60
Pony meanders, seemingly uncertain of its purpose, but Rex Orange County retains enough charm and honesty to remain engaging while he figures himself out.
50
The 21-year-old songwriter’s latest album is irritating enough to activate the mildest allergy to sincerity.
50
The production and vocal performances on Pony are considerable steps down from Rex Orange County's previous efforts.
Ugh... this cover.... That parental advisory logo looks so hilarious placed next to such an innocent face.
"I Never Had the Balls", forgive me, it's not me, it's the "explicit content" of Alex O'Connor, aka Rex Orange County. He has just released his second album, "Pony". And he's the kind of musician who, as they say, has everything for him. Trained in a specialized school, where the singers Amy Winehouse and Adele, among others, passed by, he plays all the ... read more
"I Never Had the Balls", forgive me, it's not me, it's the "explicit content" of Alex O'Connor, aka Rex Orange County. He has just released his second album, "Pony". And he's the kind of musician who, as they say, has everything for him. Trained in a specialized school, where the singers Amy Winehouse and Adele, among others, passed by, he plays all the ... read more
You know what? I'll take it! It's not Apricot Princess good, but I knew it wasnt going to be. Nothing will ever flip that very spesific switch in my brain that, that album flipped. This album is chill and I like it. Thats good enough for me!
We have some good bangers here like 10/10 (I was completely wrong about that song btw, it's really good.) And then we have the second half of the album whitch is more slow and chill. And while it works on songs like "Pluto Projector" songs like ... read more
We have some good bangers here like 10/10 (I was completely wrong about that song btw, it's really good.) And then we have the second half of the album whitch is more slow and chill. And while it works on songs like "Pluto Projector" songs like ... read more
Alexander O'Conner, better known as Rex Orange County, is a british singer-songwriter, and he has been one of my favorite artists for over the last month or so. I was introduced to him through his attributions to Tyler The Creator's fourth studio album, Flower Boy, on the songs "Forward" and "Boredom". and I decided to check out his own music because I noticed that @Toasterqueen12 gave his second album, Apricot Princess, a 10/10, and after that, I was instantly sucked in. ... read more
Its even worse than I expected
I always get concerned whenever major record labels get ahold of new and upcoming alternative artists. I find more often than not, the music produced after signing with major labels is usually more watered down and less authentic. Though not always the case, I see this as being an especially common theme with Labels like Sony and Atlantic being perhaps the worst about it.
So when Rex, an artist that is quirky and unique and that I love very much signed with ... read more
I always get concerned whenever major record labels get ahold of new and upcoming alternative artists. I find more often than not, the music produced after signing with major labels is usually more watered down and less authentic. Though not always the case, I see this as being an especially common theme with Labels like Sony and Atlantic being perhaps the worst about it.
So when Rex, an artist that is quirky and unique and that I love very much signed with ... read more
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Track List
- 10/10
- Always
- Laser Lights
- Face To Face
- Stressed Out
- Never Had the Balls
- Pluto Projector
- Every Way
- It Gets Better
- It's Not the Same Anymore
Year End Lists
| #33 | / | Clash |
| #37 | / | Complex |
| #43 | / | Gigwise |
| #48 | / | NME |
| #92 | / | Rough Trade |
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Added on: September 19, 2019