Pony | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 25 October 2019 | |||
Recorded | 2018–2019 | |||
Studio |
| |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 33:58 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Producer |
| |||
Rex Orange County chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Pony | ||||
|
Pony is the third studio album and major-label debut by the English musician Rex Orange County. It was released on 25 October 2019, through RCA Records. The album was entirely recorded at Strongroom Studios in East London, with an orchestral recording at Air Studios, and solely written by Rex Orange County, who produced all the songs with Ben Baptie. [4]
Lyrically, the album explores human emotion, and takes inspiration from personal struggles Rex Orange County faced following his rise to prominence between 2017 and 2018. Pony was supported by three singles: "10/10", "Pluto Projector", and "Face to Face". The album received favorable reviews; with both criticism and compliments directed towards its lyrical content. It debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, marking his first entry on the chart. The album reached the top ten in five other countries, including his native country, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Rex Orange County rose to prominence throughout 2017 and 2018, selling out his first four shows in the United States, visiting festivals such as Primavera Sound and the Panorama Music Festival, and contributing to the American rapper Tyler, the Creator's fourth studio album, Flower Boy (2017). Rex Orange County revealed information of a follow-up to his second studio album, Apricot Princess (2017), in an interview with Billboard on 15 February 2018, stating he was slowly working on it, and that he wanted to write about subjects he did not cover much, claiming it was because "some of the best songs aren't actually love songs". [8] Little information about the project was revealed throughout 2019. He released the stand-alone single, "New House", on 14 February 2019, which was his first release since 2017. [9]
On 4 September 2019, Rex Orange County began to tease his third studio album, tweeting "REX3". [10] On 12 September 2019, he revealed through Twitter that he would be releasing a new single, "10/10". The song was released the same day, as the album's lead single. [11] He officially revealed the album's title, tracklist, and artwork on 19 September 2019, alongside its release date of 25 October 2019, and a tour to support the album. [12] On 16 October 2019, he released a video on social media, showcasing the recording of the orchestral section for the album's second single, "Pluto Projector", at Air Studios. [13]
Musically, Pony is an indie pop, [2] jazz, [3] and neo soul record [4] which includes influences of rock. [14] Lyrically, the album primarily explores Rex Orange County trying to figure out who he is as a person, [15] while also exploring human emotion, [3] and documents the struggles he faced throughout the years prior to the album. [2]
In an interview with Hot Press , Rex Orange County explained the album's title was chosen because he "just [liked] the word." Stating that it was hard to adjust to pressure from his newfound commercial success, he did not want to make the same music from his early beginnings, due to him being younger at the time. He wanted to deliver something he would love, while not straying away from his older music. [16]
On 12 September 2019, Rex Orange County premiered "10/10" on BBC Radio 1 with Annie Mac. [11] The song was officially released the same day, alongside its music video, as the lead single from the album. [17] The song peaked at number 68 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Pluto Projector" was released as the album's second single on 17 October 2019. [18] The song peaked at number 7 on Billboard's Hot Rock Songs chart.
"Face to Face" was released as the album's third and final single on 23 October 2019. [7] The song peaked at number 86 on the UK Singles Chart.
Rex Orange County performed "10/10" for the first time on 24 September 2019, alongside a cover of "I Don't Care" by Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge. [19] On 11 October 2019, he performed "10/10" for the The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon . [20] He performed "Pluto Projector" live at Rak Studios on 23 November 2019. [21] In his debut appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show , he performed "Face to Face" on 8 January 2020. [22] On 18 March 2020, he performed "Pluto Projector" and "Always" alongside two other songs for NPR 's Tiny Desk concert. [23] He appeared at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend music festival on 24 May 2020, performing "Pluto Projector". [24] On 30 September 2020, he released an extended play consisting of live performances of songs from Pony and his other two projects, Apricot Princess and Bcos U Will Never B Free (2015), recorded during a show at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. [25]
A live performance of the album's closing track, "It's Not the Same Anymore", was released on 5 March 2021, following an increase of the song's usage on the social media app TikTok. [26]
Rex Orange County announced a tour in promotion of Pony, entitled The Pony Tour, on 19 September 2019, which visited the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States. The tour began on 13 November 2019, and ended on 27 February 2020. [27] Tour dates in Asia were announced in December 2019, but were cancelled in October 2020, due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. [28]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.4/10 [29] |
Metacritic | 76/100 [30] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
American Songwriter | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
DIY | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Financial Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Guardian | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Observer | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Pitchfork | 5.0/10 [35] |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Pony received generally favorable reviews from critics upon release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 76, based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Hannah Mylrea from NME rated the album five out of five stars, writing that it was a "dazzling follow up to Apricot Princess," and that although the world might be "miserable" and "going to shit," Mylrea wrote that it would not be possible for the listener to listen to Pony without "feeling a little bit more optimistic about the future." [4] Elly Watson expressed similar views in DIY magazine, describing it as "equal parts heart wrenching and hopeful". [2]
Giving the album an average 3 out of 5, Tara Joshi at The Guardian described the album as "jaunty and engaging", though Joshi expressed that "Pony meanders, seemingly unaware of its purpose". [15]
Luke Levenson from American Songwriter rated the album four out of five stars, writing: "His unique pop prosody and production skills, more sophisticated than ever in Pony, foretell that his sound will continue progressing to new creative heights, with the heft of catchy pop music and the inventiveness of its growing indie subgenre." [32]
Pony debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 , earning 70,000 equivalent album sales, being boosted by a concert ticket and album sale redemption. The album debuted behind Post Malone's Hollywood's Bleeding and Kanye West's Jesus is King . [38]
All songs produced by Rex Orange County and Ben Baptie.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "10/10" | 2:26 |
2. | "Always" | 3:17 |
3. | "Laser Lights" | 2:11 |
4. | "Face to Face" | 3:39 |
5. | "Stressed Out" | 1:46 |
6. | "Never Had the Balls" | 3:56 |
7. | "Pluto Projector" | 4:27 |
8. | "Every Way" | 2:13 |
9. | "It Gets Better" | 3:32 |
10. | "It's Not the Same Anymore" | 6:26 |
Total length: | 33:58 |
Credits for Pony adapted from AllMusic. [39]
Production
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [52] | Silver | 60,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
"Gett Off" is a song written and produced by American musician Prince, released in June 1991 by Paisley Park and Warner Bros. as the lead single from his thirteenth album, Diamonds and Pearls (1991). The album was his first with his backing band the New Power Generation. "Gett Off" was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching number four in the United Kingdom; the maxi-single was too long and pricey to appear on the UK Singles Chart, so this release was classified as an album, peaking at number 33 on the UK Albums Chart in August 1991.
Local Natives is an American indie rock band formed in Orange County, California, and based in Los Angeles. The band consists of Taylor Rice, Kelcey Ayer, Ryan Hahn, Matthew Frazier (drums) and Nik Ewing (bass). Before taking its current name in 2008, Local Natives was called Cavil at Rest.
Nayvadius DeMun Cash, known professionally as Future, is an American rapper and singer. Known for his mumble-styled vocals and prolific output, Future is considered a pioneer of the use of Auto-Tuned melodies in trap music. Due to the sustained popularity of this musical style, he is commonly regarded as one of the most influential rappers of his generation.
Pluto is the debut studio album by American rapper Future. It was released on April 17, 2012, through A1 Recordings and Freebandz, and distributed by Epic Records. The album features guest appearances from Drake, R. Kelly, T.I., Trae tha Truth and Snoop Dogg, with the production, which was handled by Will-A-Fool, Sonny Digital and K.E. on the Track, among others.
Blonde is the second studio album by the American singer Frank Ocean. It was released on August 20, 2016, as a timed exclusive on the iTunes Store and Apple Music, and followed the August 19 release of Ocean's video album Endless. The album features guest vocals from André 3000, Beyoncé, and Kim Burrell, among others. Production was handled by Ocean himself, alongside a variety of high-profile record producers, including Malay and Om'Mas Keith, who collaborated with Ocean on Channel Orange, as well as James Blake, Jon Brion, Buddy Ross, Pharrell Williams, and Rostam Batmanglij, among others.
A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships is the third studio album by English band the 1975. It was released on 30 November 2018 by Dirty Hit and Polydor Records. Initially titled Music for Cars, the album was intended as the follow-up to I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It (2016). The term later denoted an era encompassing both their third album and Notes on a Conditional Form, released in 2020. The band halted recording of the first part after lead singer Matty Healy left for a drug rehabilitation clinic in Barbados, seeking treatment for his heroin addiction. Following the singer's return, the band spent several months completing the album in Northamptonshire and Los Angeles.
Colors is the thirteenth studio album by American musician Beck, released on October 13, 2017, by Fonograf Records & Capitol Records. The album was recorded between 2013 and 2017, with Beck producing alongside Greg Kurstin. The album's earliest single, "Dreams", was released in June 2015, while three more singles were released between June 2016 and September 2017. The title track was also released as a single in April 2018. The album won the Best Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
Alexander James O'Connor, known professionally as Rex Orange County, is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. NPR Music's Zoë Jones has described O'Connor's music as "a bright blend of hip-hop, jazz, and bedroom pop".
Apricot Princess is the second studio album by the English musician Rex Orange County. It was released independently on 26 April 2017.
Bcos U Will Never B Free is the debut studio album by the English musician Rex Orange County. It was released free of charge on Bandcamp and SoundCloud on 4 September 2015, and officially on 7 November 2016. Following its five year anniversary, the album was released on vinyl for the first time.
The discography of the English musician Rex Orange County consists of four studio albums, twenty singles and four music videos.
Daniel Pitout, known professionally as Orville Peck, is a South African country musician based in the United States. He wears a fringed mask and does not show his face publicly. He released his debut album Pony in 2019, followed by the EP Show Pony the next year. His second studio album Bronco was released on April 8, 2022.
Omar Apolonio Velasco, known professionally as Omar Apollo, is an American singer and songwriter. After signing a record deal with Warner Records, his debut album, Ivory, was released in 2022 to positive reviews and earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. Apollo sings in both English and Spanish.
Beatrice "Bea" Kristi Ilejay Laus, known professionally as Beabadoobee, is a Filipino-English singer and songwriter. From 2018 to 2021, she released five extended plays under the independent label Dirty Hit: Lice (2018), Patched Up (2018), Loveworm (2019), Space Cadet (2019) and Our Extended Play (2021). Her debut studio album, Fake It Flowers, was released in October 2020 and received critical acclaim. Her second studio album, Beatopia, was released on July 15, 2022.
Anaïs Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho, known professionally as Arlo Parks, is an English singer and songwriter. Her debut studio album, Collapsed in Sunbeams, was released in 2021 to critical acclaim and peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. It earned her nominations for Album of the Year, Best New Artist and Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2021 Brit Awards. It won the 2021 Mercury Prize for Best Album.
"Face to Face" is a song by the English singer Rex Orange County, from his third studio album, Pony (2019). The song was released on 23 October 2019, as the third and final single from the album. The song was solely written by Rex Orange County, who produced the song with Ben Baptie.
"Trouble's Coming" is a song by English rock band Royal Blood, the opening track on their third studio album, Typhoons (2021). It was released as the album's lead single on 24 September 2020. It reached No. 8 in Scotland and No. 46 in the United Kingdom. On Billboard genre-specific charts, it reached No. 1 on the Canada Rock chart and No. 29 on the US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.
"Pluto Projector" is a song by the English singer Rex Orange County, from his third studio album, Pony (2019). The song was released on 17 October 2019, as the second single from the album, and was written by Rex Orange County, who produced the song with Ben Baptie.
Who Cares? is the fourth studio album by the English musician Rex Orange County, released on 11 March 2022, through RCA Records. The album was written and produced by Rex Orange County and the Dutch musician Benny Sings, with an appearance from the American rapper Tyler, the Creator.
"10/10" is a song by the English musician Rex Orange County, from his third studio album, Pony (2019). The song was released on 12 September 2019, as the lead single from the album. It was written by Rex Orange County, who produced the song with Ben Baptie.