London singer Rex Orange County has released his new album Who Cares? and he plays Dublin this July. Alan Corr talks to an artist who has a knack for happy go lucky introspection
If you can imagine a cross between Brian Wilson dreaming up teenage symphonies to God in his suburban bedroom and the effortless cool kid in school, you might be somewhere close to Rex Orange County.
The 23-year-old Londoner isn't quite the biggest thing in pop just yet and his quirky jazzy confections are more likely to cause a ripple than a sonic tsunami, but he may yet corner the market in happy go lucky introspection.
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Sure, his music doesn’t quite reach the same sublime heights as the Beach Boys but like Wilson, Rex is a very old head on very young shoulders. His music is swooning and breezy but the ache in his voice reveals real vulnerability under those glossy music vibes.
However, on a dreaded Zoom from his base in New York, Alex O’Connor (for that is his real name - the Orange County moniker was given to him by a former teacher), sounds so laidback he might as well be horizontal on a gently bobbing Lilo.
His just released fifth album goes by the double-edged title of Who Cares? and it captures Rex’s surface insouciance and the impression that perhaps he cares too much.
"I’ve had moments of that many, many times - of asking who cares? I don’t give a s*** when I really do and other times when it’s the opposite - who cares, with a question mark," he says in a London accent with maybe a hint of an American.
"I’ve spent a long time worrying and caring about what people think and it really didn’t help. Now I feel really free to write and say what I want and not care so much about what people think.
"I think I really did that with this album and didn’t overthink it at all. This time I tried to hold it down and be myself."
Now that he’s the ripe old age of 23, Who Cares? could be his grown-up album and he really does feel he’s matured a lot in the past few years.
"Absolutely, 100% but I feel I have a lot left to learn," he says. "I started doing this when I was 17 and I didn’t know much, and I am definitely still learning.
"In the last three, four years I’ve learned the most, mostly about what I don’t want, and it’s been great and I’m so grateful to do what I do and it’s my hobby and it’s become my job and my life and that’s wonderful but that comes with some things that are not good but hey, that’s life."
Who Cares? is a very lush affair, all twinkling piano keys and jazzy orchestration. Tracks like Worth and Make It Easy are breezy slices of sophisto pop on which he sounds like a mellow lover man with a bad case of bed head and a certain Gen Z ennui. As he croons on Amazing, "search the definition of afraid and I’m sure you’ll see my face".
"I try to balance it out, like the devil and the angel on each of my shoulders," he says. "The angel coming in halfway through the song and saying it’s alright to make mistakes and don’t give up.
So, is he a troubled songwriter? "Hmmmmm, yes! But that comes most naturally. I try not to overthink and what comes out of my mouth is what I was thinking at that time."
Growing up just outside London, he was influenced by his mum and dad’s record collection, which meant a lot of classical and theatre music.
"Stuff like Les Mis. I loved the theatrical music and they played a lot of Queen and Abba and I also listened to Now! That’s What I Call Music compilations," he says.
"I learnt about American bands like Blink 182 and Green Day and Eminem and 50 Cent, Jay-z and Kanye. I was very open to everything. I just loved the idea of being able to make so many different sounds."
The new album also sees him reunite with one of his earliest champions - Tyler, The Creator. The pair first worked together in 2017 on the LA rapper’s album Flower Boy and now they’ve collaborated on new track Open a Window.
"He’s one of my favourite people and we remained in touch ever since we first worked together, and we’ve been trying to find a chance to do so again. After we worked on Open A Window in Amsterdam, I thought Tyler has to be on this song. He’s the man, he’s my brother."
Tyler certainly brings some grit to Rex’s happy go lucky introspection, but this young singer does do optimism on Who Cares? Keep It Up is an anthem of self-confidence and his own manifesto for, well, keeping on keeping on.
"Exactly. There is the mirror of self-doubt," he says. "The easiest thing is wanting to give up. That song is about saying pull your socks up. You going to spend your life complaining? Life is pretty good!"
Alan Corr @CorrAlan2
Who Cares? is out now. Rex Orange County plays the Iveagh Gardens, Dublin on July 15
