Rex Orange County - Apricot Princess

"Hey,
I'm not afraid, I can be myself and I
Hope you can be yourself as well
'Cause I can make you feel alright
And there was so much happiness that
We were still yet to find
I said that you can call me Alex, baby
Welcome to my life"

The incredibly musically and lyrically talented Alex O'connor released his first album Bcos U Will Never B Free on soundcloud in 2015 at the age of 17 under the name “Rex Orange County”. He had only been learning guitar and drums for a year prior to that, but despite that the record still had some standout moments in its simplicity and minimalistic style. Two years later, O’Connor released his sophomore album Apricot Princess, which is one of the prettiest damn things I have ever heard.

I feel so happy every time I listen to this album. Hearing Bcos U Will Never B Free, which deals with themes of heartbreak and depression, to be followed by such an uplifting tracklist is pretty beautiful. You can literally hear how much better Alex is doing compared to where he was a few years ago. The instrumentation is more glamourous, as well as vastly improved from its predecessor, and the lyrics are extremely uplifting and full of charm. There are however moments on the record which describe Alex’s lingering anxiety of just how well things are going, as if it could all collapse at any moment like a house of cards, such as in the excellent track Television/So Far, So Good:

“What the fuck is a girlfriend?
I'mma need advice
Maybe I should go outside
So I could get a fucking life
I made a friend and she spent the night now
I'm in love and she remains in my life
And back when we spoke in Europe
I need insurance, on my emotions
I can't get hurt again”

But whenever Alex faces confronting thoughts such as this in the album, he takes the time to develop and understand them in order to properly cope with his feelings. Although there are a number of tracks here which still deal with some of the sadder themes carrying over from his debut, it feels like he is coming to grips with them. It’s clear he is still finding it difficult to tackle some of his own thoughts between anxiety and depression, but he’s also clearly made a lot of progress, both mentally as well as in terms of the music he is producing. Where Bcos U Will Never B Free came off as angsty in parts, this album feels much more mature and carefully developed. You can also see this continue in some of the singles he has released since this album, such as Loving is Easy and New House which are even more optimistic and upbeat than some of the tracks presented in this album.

Alex also shines instrumentally on this album. It’s extremely colourful, beginning in the titular track with a beautiful sweeping strings section which creates a very cinematic feel for the rest of the record. For the most part, the album works off guitar as the primary instrumental focus, which Alex manages to utilize in a range of ways. However I would have loved to have seen some more variety in the instrumentation, like he displays in the singles following this album, such as the brass from Best Friend or the saxophone from Sunflower, which I think would have helped even more for the style of the record.

Even without these inclusions, there is enough variety here to keep the album interesting sounding. Despite one or two tracks such as Untitled which I personally feel is thematically out of place in the album, Apricot Princess is a really beautiful album and an clear indication that Rex Orange County is definitely an artist to keep an eye on in the coming years.

8/10