Rex Orange County, New House | Track Review

Rising British alternative musician Rex Orange County, delivers a surefire gem with reflective single, “New House.”

“I can see us in a house next year / (You’ll be) making your mind up / You can figure out what goes where / (And stay) keeping it real with me all the time.” Incredibly gifted.  That’s the best way to describe British alternative musician Rex Orange County (Alex O’Connor).  O’Connor first caught my attention in 2017 when he released the excellent LP Apricot Princess, among the best of that year regardless of genre.  He also caught my eye collaborating with Tyler, the Creator (“Boredom” from Flower Boy) as well as Randy Newman (“You’ve Got a Friend in Me”).  He’s back with his own, superb first single of 2019, “New House.”

Perfection is hard to achieve, yet, O’Connor achieves or nearly achieves it on “New House.” The production work is absolutely magnificent.  The sound palette is broad, including piano, drums, strings, brass, and synths.  Sigh, the ear-candy is non-stop.  Beyond the backdrop and instrumentation, O’Connor sounds great vocally, never forcing anything, but delivering with ‘cool, calm, and collected’ approach without sounding casual or nonchalant.  With production, musicianship, and a ripe set of pipes on his side, perhaps the biggest reason that “New House” is nearly perfect is the songwriting.  O’Connor is a clever writer, with the ability to surprise you with his lyrics. Interestingly, he explores the creative process (“You know that I haven’t been inspired since like I was 18”), in addition to the progression of his relationship, as the the aforementioned chorus suggests.

Final Thoughts

Just to reiterate, “New House” is awesome – utterly superb.  If Rex Orange County did happen to have issues with creativity, well, he more than makes up for it here.  Great production, musicianship, and songwriting make “New House” the juggernaut that everybody needs to hear.  Don’t sleep on Alex O’Connor folks – he’s a gem.

Rex Orange County • New House [Single] • Release: 2.14.19

Photo Credit: Rex Orange County