A few weeks ago, on March 11, the long awaited album from Rex Orange County, “WHO CARES?” finally came out. The album is short and sweet, only 35 minutes long, and featuring eleven new tracks.

Fans have been waiting for this album’s release for about a year now, and the reviews have been a bit mixed. Some say it was good, while others feel it may have “flopped”.

As a fan of Rex’s, I personally feel the album was pretty good. I’ll concede that I didn’t like it as much as his previous releases, Pony or “Apricot Princess, but I think it holds its own on his discography.

The thing about Rex is that he and his fans all suffer from what I have affectionately dubbed “Sad Artist Syndrome,”,which basically goes to say that fans are having a hard time accepting this album because it’s more upbeat, happy, and reflecting the artist’s own more positive mental state.

This happens to indie/alternative artists who hit it big a lot. Rex Orange County is the perfect example.

His previous albums, Apricot Princess and Bcos You Will Never be Free, are quite depressing, to say the least. They are lamentations about what it means to be lonely, fail in a relationship, and be rejected.

While these albums were amazing, they were nothing compared to the success of the more angsty, carefree, Pony. If you’re not familiar with Rex’s work, you probably at least know songs from this album, like “Pluto Projector,” or maybe even “10/10.”

Pony, unlike the rest, is about accepting your place in your own life, cutting out toxic people, accepting love, and understanding that while things change, you always have yourself to fall back on. Fans, including myself, thoroughly enjoyed this album, with the melancholic “Pluto Projector” earning millions of streams and even TikTok fame.

One student, preferring to remain anonymous, gave their two cents, saying “ I really liked the new Rex album, but I still like Pony more. I enjoyed the use of strings, and a lot of the songs, like “KEEP IT UP” and “WHO CARES?”

So, when “WHO CARES?” came out, fans were… a little confused. I know I was. A couple articles I’ve seen call it an “unremarkable” addition to his body of work, but I think there really is something to be said about it.

The album starts off with “KEEP IT UP” and “OPEN A WINDOW” (the latter which actually features Tyler, the Creator, and has earned a lot of love due to this awesome collaboration), and two upbeat songs about letting negativity out of your life to continue finding happiness after darkness. They both play on the orchestral, instrumental musical composition that earned “Pluto Projector” a lot of streams. So right off the bat, Rex is.. happy?

Continuing on through the album, the songs stay pretty consistently instrumental and happy. True, the orchestral-pop has not failed Rex yet, and I still think it works for him here. Rex’s singing voice sounds very nice on top of some string instruments, like violins and cello, and the artist took no time using it until he couldn’t anymore.

As you go further down the album, it returns a bit to the artist’s indie roots, still mixed with the instrumental flare. However, as you continue listening, the songs do get a bit more depressing. Around the track “7AM,” we see the mood of the album change. Questions are raised about it being good enough, being a good person, and being lonely once again.

It’s important to note here that a while before the album came out, Rex and his long time girlfriend did break up. So I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the sadder songs were written after this happened.

Anyway, these sad, indie sounding “depression bops” certainly delivered to the fans what they were probably looking for. I personally think that the change in tone throughout the album makes it more entertaining and engaging to listen to, especially if you let it play in order.

The last couple tracks, as I said above, kind of lose the “Pluto Projector”-esque orchestra sound, in favor of the more indie pop bass, drum, and light piano-lament kind of beat. A lot of Rex’s earlier songs sound more like this, and it was refreshing for me to hear him return to his roots here.

You’re probably thinking, “Ok, yeah that’s all great, Gaby. But what is this album even about? Why do you think it’s remarkable? You said yourself it wasn’t your favorite, so why are you defending it?”

Well, I have yet to discuss the final song on the album, the short and thought-evoking title track, “WHO CARES?”

For me listening to the album the first time, this song did an excellent job of closing the thought, theme, and era Rex was trying to create with this release.

Prior to the album’s debut, Rex was MIA from social media for a bit. He posted intermittently, and you could tell in lot of his posts that he was sad (probably from his breakup). Once it was released, (much later), he seemed a lot happier. Fans could tell he was doing better with the help of his loved ones.

Now this is probably his PR team telling him to brighten up, but even if it was, it was a smart move, because it reflects perfectly the theme of the album, which I believe is finding out WHO CARES about you!

When I first read the name, I thought the album would be like Pony, that is, a carefree WHO CARES about anything? I didn’t expect it to be a self discovery album.

But the final title track confirms it. With the line…:
“So you want to be happy too? / What are you supposed to do? / Now you care about who cares / Who cares? (x5)”

…we know “WHO CARES?” is an album dedicated to finding the people in your life who love you and will stick by you, even at your worst–the people who care about your well being, your mental health, and just want to be there for you. Much like what the artist went through during the album’s composition, I personally think it’s a beautiful message.

So overall, I really enjoyed “WHO CARES?” maybe not as much as Rex’s older music, but I wouldn’t write it off as “unremarkable.” I found it endearing, and something that lots of people need to hear right now. So I’d go listen to it, especially if you are in the right headspace, or if you are a fan of his other work. It’s available wherever music is streamed.