On his fourth album, English singer and songwriter Rex Orange County (which hides the distinctly Irish name of Alexander O'Connor) continues the blueprint set down by his first three albums (2015's Bcos U Will Never B Free, 2017's Apricot Princess, 2019's Pony) with a batch of songs that ably matches the deft touches he is best known for. It's an odd position the 23-year-old songwriter is in – popular enough to headline venues such as Dublin's Iveagh Gardens (July 15th) but not so familiar that his name trips off the tongue.
As album titles go, Who Cares? could be testament to ROC’s casual approach to commercial success, but his songs go some way to bridging any gaps between record sales/streams and public recognition. He has made the jump from teenage artist (he was 17 when his debut was released via Soundcloud and Bandcamp) to being signed as a 20-year-old to major label RCA look easy, and here he delivers yet another album of indie lo-fi earworms.
Collaborations with American rappers such as Chance the Rapper and Tyler, the Creator might add an extra creative frisson to the music, but if you drill down deep enough, it is ROC’s dexterous touches to pop music – all present and correct here – that are the most endearing.
