Rex Orange County

Week 11: Rex Orange County- WHO CARES?

~ honestopinions19 ~ Leave a comment
I first came across Alex O’Connor, or Rex Orange County, while playing FIFA 18 and his song ‘Never Enough’. I liked it, but I was invested in setting up the squad, tactics, formation, and playing the game rather than paying attention to the songs. The next time I came across him on Later…with Jools Holland in autumn 2019. I only knew who he was once I heard his vocals. Why? Because on FIFA 18, I avoid looking at who the songs are by. If they sound good, I keep them, and if they sound shit, well… they go. I was impressed by his live performances of the songs and then sought out his live performances via YouTube. I was further impressed and added him to my gargantuan list of artists/bands I like. Apparently, in the 21st century, he is like Paul McCartney to the kids. It is a stretch, but there is no doubt that Rex is talented.




The first thing that struck me about Rex’s fourth album, “Who Cares?” was how short it was. Before listening, I saw that the total time was under 35 minutes. I have heard records this long, so songs can be uploaded for teasing videos to Tik-Tok, and therefore, get those watching to buy and download the stream. It is a clever marketing strategy, but an album should be an album to me. From what I witnessed, those who use TikTok usually have a short attention span. 


An album was designed to be a long play and hold your concentration. My highlight was ‘OPEN A WINDOW’ with Tyler the Creator.




The album is happy-go-lucky, as usual. Something Rex is known for. Of course, there are moments of swearing and some songs about his recent split, but overall, Rex remains. It isn’t necessarily bad, but maybe Rex needs to face adversity to bring out the all-rounder we know that is hidden within him.




Song recommendations: ‘OPEN A WINDOW’, ‘ONE IN A MILLION’, ‘THE SHADE’