Rex Orange County – Pony (Vinyl LP)

Pony, the highly-anticipated follow up to 2017’s Apricot Princess, was written, recorded, and performed almost entirely by Rex Orange County himself at Strongroom Studios in East London with frequent collaborator Ben Baptie co-producing, engineering and mixing the album. Pony is both simple and smart: five songs laying open the troubles that beset Rex over the last year or so, then five tracks teeing up how he turned things round. Or, as he puts it: “The first half to me is the angry, reflective thing. And the second half is: now I’ve gotten over it.”

In “10/10,” lead single and album curtain-raiser, there is positivity and uplift, even as there’s a bite and edge to the lyrics. while “Face To Face” blooms with kaleidoscopic, multi-tracked vocals and an energetic spring in its step. “Never Had The Balls” features pizzicato strings, birds tweeting and a cracking fuzzy guitar solo and the closing run of songs includes the Randy Newman-esque “Every Way,” a classic piano ballad, and “It Gets Better,” glowing with strings and beats. Rex Orange County signs off with his best vocal and affecting, mournful brass on the quietly epic “It’s Not The Same Anymore.”

1. 10/10
2. Always
3. Laser Lights
4. Face To Face
5. Stressed Out
6. Never Had The Balls
7. Pluto Projector
8. Every Way
9. It Gets Better
10. It’s Not the Same Anymore