The Daily Spin, August 15
Rex Orange County | Pony
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite song from each album right here.
Album: Pony (2019)
Artist: Rex Orange County
Link:
I think Rex Orange County is best summed up in a single turn of phrase by two words: ‘softboi music’. While this isn’t necessarily a negative connotation, it’s one that very much defines Alex O’Connor’s style and with it, helps frame this album as an expectation and a genre - full of soft, reverberating guitar and easy synths, this pop-like feeling tends to persist on the edges of pop music, just a little bit off the beaten path.
Pony is no different to the great majority of Rex Orange County’s catalogue - ten songs, the vast majority under 4 minutes and a further segment under 3, quick hitters that are easy, breezy, and pleasing to the ear - but where they stumble is their lack of relistenability. Much like other artists that have gained some notoriety on sites like TikTok where they’re pretty excellent at being nondescript, Alex O’Connor shines when he’s doing everything but standing out, which unfortunately leaves me in the position of having listened to this album less than one hour ago and yet not remembering a single track.
It’s not bad music, but it winds up feeling a bit like nothingness in the end.
Rating: 7.7/10
Best Tracks: Always; Pluto Projector
Worst Tracks: Stressed Out