Rex Orange County sits in his grass-floored bedroom. Two Dalmatians circled around him as he called a third one to come closer to him. Photo courtesy of RCA Records
English singer-songwriter Alexander James O’Connor, or Rex Orange County, released his four studio album, “Who Cares?” on March 11. The 11 track alternative funk project shows the artist finding the motivation to press on, despite the hurdles along the way.
County opens the album with the up-tempo jazz track “KEEP IT UP,” encouraging himself to push through life’s stressful and depressing moments.
“Keep it up and go on / Yeah, you’re only holding out for what you want,” County sings in the chorus. “I know that it’s so frustrating / It’s enough, keep it up.”
County then slows it down with the second song, “OPEN A WINDOW” while still keeping the drums. The track features rapper Tyler, The Creator who elaborates on County’s lyrics of feeling like there’s no way of escape.
“Open door, but you can’t / Try to run, but you pant,” Creator raps in the bridge. “Out of breath, you can’t vent / ‘Cause the AC actin’ up.”
The tempo picks back up with the funk-inspired track “WORTH IT.” County sings about struggling to accept an unfortunate situation.
“It’s not worth it anymore, I feel insane / And I’m not sure why things change,” County expresses in the chorus. “What’s worth it anymore? / Am I not the same? / No, I’m not sure if I’m to blame, yeah.”
The key and rhythm of “AMAZING” is reminiscent of “Night Changes” by former band One Direction. In this song, County sets the scene of falling in love.
“There’s no way to time it / And where you may find it / Is unknown / Until then, you’re a loner,” County begins in the first verse. “So you see her / She’s over / In the corner / And you can’t / Ignore her.”
County continues the theme of romance with the fifth track, “ONE IN A MILLION,” as he incorporates harmonies and violins.
“My heart keeps driving me crazy / There’s nothing much I can do, I’m aware,” County sings in the chorus. “There’s no one quite like you / You’re one of one, one in a million, woah.”
In “IF YOU WANT IT,” County takes a different approach sonically using bass synth. He repeatedly sings in the chorus about naturally following one’s will in a relationship.
“Girl, if you want it / There’s no good reason not to love if you want it,” County sings. “I said, girl, if you want it / Let’s just believe that we belong if you want it.”
County titles the next song “7AM” to symbolize the feeling of waking up in the morning questioning his identity.
“I know that I wanna be independent / I really wanna prove myself today,” County sings in the second verse. “But what if I’m hopeless and dependent? / Once again, should I pack up or stay?”
The laid-back “THE SHADE” is the soundtrack to play during a coastal road trip. County expresses in this song how reliant he was in a past relationship.
“I would love just to be stuck to your side / Not with anybody else, anybody else,” He sings. “It’s enough just to keep us occupied / Please don’t go.”
County lets go of the hard drums, emphasizing electric guitar with “MAKING TIME.” The shortest track on the album has no chorus and only one verse.
“MAKING TIME” is followed by the longest and slowest song, “SHOOT ME DOWN.” County sings about attempting to keep himself sane after heartbreak.
“Slowly lost my mind / What if this heart breaks into something that I’m unable to heal,” County sings in verse one. “And what about the time? / I try my best to make it okay every day, but either way.”
He ends the album with the title track. County comes to the conclusion that the path to happiness involves having people who he can rely on.
“So you wanna be happy, too? / What are you supposed to do? / Now you care about who cares,” County sings.
Overall, the album shows County expressing his struggle to maintain a peaceful mindset from tough experiences. “Who Cares?” is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music.
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