Since the 2015 release of his mixtape Bcos U Will Never B Free, Surrey singer-songwriter Alexander O’Connor, AKA Rex Orange County, has proved his knack for creating succinct bedroom pop whose youthful optimism is so vibrant as to sometimes verge on the saccharine. That sweetness was the perfect accompaniment for the acerbic introspection of US rapper Tyler, the Creator’s 2017 album Flower Boy, on which O’Connor provided multiple features, but the British artist has since struggled to establish a sound of his own that can carry a listener’s attention through repeated plays.
His latest fourth record, Who Cares?, finds O’Connor in somewhat better shape. Reuniting with songwriter Benny Sings, who provided one of his most popular singles in 2017’s Loving Is Easy, the pair produce 11 tracks of earworming hooks. Highlights include the hip-swaying funk of The Shade, a gravelly guest verse from Tyler on Open a Window, and the forlorn strings of Amazing.
Taken as a whole, though, Who Cares? is so unvarying in its sentimental melodies that it begins to fade into the background, so unobtrusive that it becomes unremarkable. Perhaps if O’Connor finds some darkness within his earnestness there would be a depth worth coming back to.
