Rex Orange Country – Pony

By: Bri Bradley

21-year-old, Alexander O’Connor better known as Rex Orange County, just dropped his newest album, Pony. Pony is his third album following up Apricot Princess and bcos u will never b free. This third album is relatively short, coming in at 10 songs and a little over 30 minutes. I’ve been a huge Rex Orange County fan since early 2018, and he has never put out anything I wasn’t utterly obsessed with. ROC has one of the most unique and distinct sounds of anyone on the music scene right now, and he is just growing more and more popular. It is nearly impossible to describe ROC’s sound, but if you tried to classify him you could consider him indie pop or alternative but putting him in one genre box seems unfair. ROC has a mix of sappy and tongue-in-cheek tracks that make you want to sing along in your car. I knew the true test to see whether ROC had star potential was when I saw him live a little over a year ago, and boy did he not disappoint. The man can sing, play piano, and really connect with a crowd like no other. Rex Orange County isn’t going anywhere soon, and we should all be prepared for him to take the music world by storm.

The first track released from Pony was “10/10” and honestly, I wasn’t totally obsessed like I hoped I would be. The track was catchy, but it had an almost irritating sound that I couldn’t get into. “10/10” did attract many new listeners for ROC though, and helped this album gain traction with a new audience. But not to worry, “10/10” was thankfully the only track on the album I was not a fan of. The rest of the tracks provided me with the ever so unique sound that made me fall in love with Rex Orange County in the first place. ROC is truly the only one out there with his sound. It’s a truly eclectic mix of indie pop and quirky lyrics. It is hard to put into words, but ROC has such a “cute” sound. The lyrics mixed with his sound just make me want to give him a big hug. He just comes across so quirky and sweet and he seems like he could be anyone’s friend.

“Loving is Easy” was the first Rex Orange County song I ever heard and is debatably his most popular. If I were to show ROC to someone, I would play that song. I feel that it really captures his vibe and sound and can put absolutely anyone in a good mood. It is not necessarily his best song, but it is a great first track to introduce to someone. I do believe that with this album, ROC’s sound has evolved compared to his debut album, bcos u will never b free. His voice and overall sound have matured, and he has really grown into himself. On this album he really experimented with instrumentals and had some amazing saxophone and trumpet moments. ROC has evolved over the years, but he hasn’t lost himself or the sound that made him special in the first place.

My favorite track on the album by far is “It Gets Better”. It has the most unique sound on the album and stands out far above the rest. The instrumentals are outstanding and have a totally different vibe than the rest of the album. The entirety of the album is truly great, and I really enjoyed each song and the specialness each track brought on. With that being said, I would not say this is my favorite Rex Orange County album but I was overall happy with the album, and it made me excited to see what is to come for Rex Orange County in the future because I have a feeling he is going to be a hot commodity in the upcoming year.

Rating: 7.5/10

Favorite tracks: “It Gets Better”, “Laser Lights”, and “Pluto Projector”