• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Login/ Register
  • Editorial Team
  • Get Involved

Exeposé Online

Making the headlines since 1987

Exeposé Online
  • Home
  • News
      • Local
      • COVID-19
      • University News
  • Comment
  • Features
      • National
      • Worldwide
      • Politics
      • Interviews
  • Science
      • News
      • Lite Science
      • Common Misconceptions
      • Environment
      • Health
      • Technology
  • Sport
  • Lifestyle
      • Fashion and Beauty
      • Features
      • Food
      • Wellbeing
      • Sustainability
  • Music
      • Interviews
      • Features
      • Live Reviews
      • Album Reviews
      • Single Reviews
  • Screen
      • Reviews
      • Features
      • Interviews
      • Festivals and Awards
  • Arts + Lit
      • Interviews
      • Features
      • Reviews
      • Creative Writing
  • Amplify
  • International
  • Multilingual
  • News
  • Comment
  • Features
  • Science
  • Sport
  • Lifestyle
  • Music
  • Screen
  • Arts + Lit
  • Amplify
  • International
  • Multilingual
Home / Music

Album Review: Rex Orange County – Pony

Nov 7, 2019 – by William Thornton

William Thornton reviews Rex Orange County’s latest album

UK indie musician Rex Orange County is back with his third studio album, Pony: his first release since his breakthrough album Apricot Princess and his own rise to fame after working alongside Tyler the Creator – and even being proclaimed one of the UK’s top artists in 2018 by the BBC. The twenty-one-year-old artist has achieved such a sudden breakthrough in the music industry that it’s no surprise his latest album has had a huge amount of hype behind its late November release. With a plethora of singles being released preceding the new record and a huge marketing campaign as well, it shows just how much of a household name Rex has become in the past few years.

   It seems, however, that Rex has moved away from the upbeat and energetic sound he developed for himself with Apricot Princess and his more popular singles released after that (‘Loving is Easy’, ‘New House’), and has, instead, opted for a more dreamy and thoughtful sound. This should be nothing new to long-term Rex fans; after all, his first ever release, ‘Uno’, is a hugely melancholic song with tragic lyrics that centre around the singer’s own self-loathing and anxiety. Since then, however, Rex has moved towards more upbeat and energetic melodies, which makes me wonder if this album will come as a bit of a shock to newer listeners who may have been expecting a much different record.

‘Face To Face’, a bare-boned song that is simply beautiful, perfectly captures the overall tone

   Pony starts off with the song ‘10/10’ which was previously released as this first single of the album, and it’s no wonder why: the song will sound much more familiar to most Rex fans, as it has a melody and lyrics that could have come straight off Apricot Princess, and would very well fit with the rest of that album. This is by no means a bad thing, as the song is a great opener to Pony: it sets the tone well and also offers a nice contrast to the rest of the album as the songs gradually become more pensive and dreamy throughout the short-but-sweet thirty-minute runtime. Another stand-out track is the fourth song on the album, ‘Face To Face’, a bare-boned song that is simply beautiful, and in my opinion perfectly captures the overall tone of Pony; the opening harmonies of the song are warm and pleasant to the ear, and the way the song gradually build up its instrumentation alongside the hard-hitting lyrics is incredible – I’d even go so far as to say this is my favourite track off Pony. Other stand-out songs for me are ‘Pluto Projector’, one of the previously-released singles for the album, and the closing track ‘It’s Not The Same Anymore’, both of which are extremely dreamlike and contemplative, acting as a great climax to the album, seeing as how reflective they are of this new, more sombre sound Rex has developed.

   Despite this, however, there’s not much else to say about Pony. Apart from these few stand-out tracks I can’t help but feel that the rest of the album blends together somewhat, with a lot of the in-between tracks sounding a tad more generic and unremarkable. That isn’t to say they’re bad, in fact in my opinion this album is very solid all the way through, and even the less-memorable songs are pleasant to listen to and generally fit well with the album as a whole. It’s just a shame that Rex couldn’t keep up the pace and quality of the first few songs on the album throughout.

   All in all, I’m very pleased with Pony; it’s an extremely solid and listenable album, with a handful of songs that I’d go so far as to say are some of the artist’s best, despite the fact that it has a slight drop in quality in the middle of the album. Whilst it may not be as good as his preceding record, I feel that Pony is a great addition to Rex Orange County’s discography, and I am hugely invested to see where he goes next.

3.5

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Nov 7, 2019 By William Thornton Filed Under: Music, Album Reviews Tagged With: R&B, singer songwriter, Rex Orange County, English singer, second headlines

Primary Sidebar

exeposemusic

Keeping you up to date with Exeter's music.
Print Editors: @bry.kg & Richard Ainslie
Online Editors: @megfrost_ & @stephenenwei
music@exepose.com

Last week, on a crisp September morning in Idaho F Last week, on a crisp September morning in Idaho Falls, Idaho, TikTok user 420doggface208 put Fleetwood Mac back on the charts with nothing more than a phone, a longboard and a bottle of Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry juice. That’s a baffling sentence let alone idea. But once you watch a viral video of a man cruising down a slip road, sipping on juice and lip syncing to Stevie Nicks, it makes perfect sense.

Check out the rest of Max Ingleby’s article on TikTok music online now!
Check out the review of hip-hop duo Run the Jewels Check out the review of hip-hop duo Run the Jewels’ latest record, by @_will.thornton_
@aaronloose reviews indie icon Phoebe Bridgers’ @aaronloose reviews indie icon Phoebe Bridgers’ sophomore album online now! Check it out!
Online Lifestyle Editor Elinor Jones reviews one o Online Lifestyle Editor Elinor Jones reviews one of Frank Turner’s Facebook live gigs and discusses the importance of musicians supporting small venues during the pandemic in a new article online now! 🎸
Print Music Editor @bridiehazelaa reviews Lady Gag Print Music Editor @bridiehazelaa reviews Lady Gaga’s latest album - check it out online now!
Have a read of the review of the BBC’s attempt a Have a read of the review of the BBC’s attempt at a zoom-radio festival by @xharry_ online now!
Check out the interview with @frankiejonesmusic no Check out the interview with @frankiejonesmusic now up online, by print music editor @bridiehazelaa 🤩🖤
@bry.kg has reviewed Fiona Apple’s new album, ta @bry.kg has reviewed Fiona Apple’s new album, take a look on our website and have a read🤩
Print Music Editor @bridiehazelaa interviews @_ech Print Music Editor @bridiehazelaa interviews @_echohotel_ in the next of the Up and Comers series, on our website now!
Load More… Follow on Instagram
Tweets by Exeposé Music

Contact Us: editors@exepose.com

Since 1987, Exeposé has given a voice to Exeter students. Over the years, the determination and political fervour exhibited by students through Exeposé have helped shape the University we study at today. We have received national recognition for our award-winning campaigns, investigations and surveys, and always strive to provide students with high-quality news, comment and features.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in articles and comments do not reflect the views of Exeposé Online or the University of Exeter Student's Guild.

        


© 2021
Website design: Harry Caton and Ellie Cook
Webdesign & development: Harry Caton