Who Cares? | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 11 March 2022 | |||
Recorded | October 2020 | |||
Genre | Bedroom pop [1] | |||
Length | 34:51 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Producer | ||||
Rex Orange County chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Who Cares? | ||||
|
Who Cares? is the fourth studio album by the English musician Rex Orange County, released on 11 March 2022, through RCA Records. [2] 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. [3] [2]
The album debuted at number 5 on the US Billboard 200 chart with 35,000 album equivalent units. [4]
Following the release of his third studio album, Pony (2019), Rex Orange County began work on his fourth studio album sometime in the fall of 2020. Rex Orange County and the Dutch musician Benny Sings met in what was described as a "session without expectations," which later turned into a "productive 48-hour window of recording". The two later went on a trip to Amsterdam where the album was finished in a span of 10 days. [5] On 13 October 2020, he posted an image of him and Benny Sings in the studio on Twitter, and revealed more information four days later, stating he had finished the album, and revealed its title. [6] On 31 December 2020, he confirmed that the album was set for release in 2021. [7]
After a long period of silence on social media throughout 2021, Rex Orange County replied to a tweet on 1 January 2022, apologizing for the delay of the album, and asked if his fans still wanted to hear it. [8] He then posted a video to TikTok, on 15 January 2022, teasing a snippet of a track which was reportedly titled "Keep It Up". [9] The song's title was officially confirmed on 26 January 2022, when it was released, along with the official announcement of the release date, artwork, and track listing of Who Cares?, revealing a feature from the American rapper Tyler, the Creator, who Rex Orange County first worked with for Tyler's studio album, Flower Boy (2017). [10]
Musically, Who Cares? is described as a bedroom pop record, [1] with elements of soul, [11] jazz, [12] and dance. [13]
Rex Orange County explained that the album's title was in his head before recording sessions began, and that he decided it needed to be the title after some of the songs were recorded. [13]
After teasing the song on TikTok, Rex Orange County released "Keep It Up" as the album's lead single, on 26 January 2022, with its music video premiering the same day. [14]
"Amazing" was released as the album's second single on 14 February 2022, alongside its music video. [15]
Two days before the album's release, "Open a Window" featuring Tyler, the Creator was released as the album's third and final single, on 11 March 2022. [16]
The music video for the album's ninth track, "Making Time", was released on 15 March 2022. [17] The music video for the album's fifth track, "One in a Million", was released on 7 June 2022. [18]
During a TikTok livestream on 3 February 2022, Rex Orange County performed "Keep It Up" alongside two unreleased tracks from Who Cares?, "Amazing" and "Making Time". [19] He appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on 12 March 2022, performing "One in a Million". [20]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 70/100 [21] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [22] |
DIY | [23] |
The Guardian | [1] |
The Independent | [11] |
NME | [24] |
Who Cares? received favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 70, based on 8 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
In a more critical review of the album, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian rated Who Cares? two out of five stars, writing that the singer was playing it "gratingly safe". [1] Writing for The Observer , Ammar Kalia described it as "sweet, unremarkable bedroom pop", which "offers plenty of hooks but lacks the depth to be truly memorable." [25] [26]
All tracks written and produced by Alex "Rex Orange County" O'Connor and Benny Sings, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Keep It Up" | 3:03 | |
2. | "Open a Window" (featuring Tyler, the Creator) |
| 3:39 |
3. | "Worth It" | 2:45 | |
4. | "Amazing" | 3:29 | |
5. | "One in a Million" | 3:15 | |
6. | "If You Want It" | 3:07 | |
7. | "7am" | 3:19 | |
8. | "The Shade" | 3:02 | |
9. | "Making Time" | 1:55 | |
10. | "Shoot Me Down" | 4:52 | |
11. | "Who Cares?" | 2:29 | |
Total length: | 34:51 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "Making Time" (Alternative Version) | 2:06 |
Total length: | 37:04 |
Musicians
Technical
Artwork
Chart (2022) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [28] | 2 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [29] | 95 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [30] | 193 |
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [31] | 16 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [32] | 77 |
Irish Albums (OCC) [33] | 2 |
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA) [34] | 78 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [35] | 1 |
Portuguese Albums (AFP) [36] | 14 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [37] | 1 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [38] | 76 |
UK Albums (OCC) [39] | 1 |
US Billboard 200 [40] | 5 |
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [41] | 1 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [42] | 2 |
Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with their first three albums Black Sabbath, Paranoid, and Master of Reality (1971). Following Osbourne's departure in 1979, the band underwent multiple line-up changes, with Iommi being the only constant member throughout its history.
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was a benefit concert held on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992, at Wembley Stadium in London, England, for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by Ray Burdis, directed by David Mallet and broadcast live on television and radio to 76 countries around the world, with an audience of up to one billion. The concert was a tribute to Queen's lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury, who died of an AIDS-related illness on 24 November 1991.
Headless Cross is the fourteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Released in April 1989, it was the group's second album to feature singer Tony Martin, the first to feature drummer Cozy Powell, and the only album with session bassist Laurence Cottle.
"War Pigs" is an anti-war protest song by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in 1970. It is the opening track from the band's second studio album Paranoid (1970).
"Smoke on the Water" is a song by English rock band Deep Purple, released on their 1972 studio album Machine Head. The song's lyrics are based on true events, chronicling the 1971 fire at Montreux Casino in Montreux, Switzerland. It is considered the band's signature song and its guitar riff is considered to be one of the most iconic in rock history.
Anthony Frank Iommi Jr. is an English musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader, primary composer, and sole continuous member for over five decades. He is considered one of the pioneers of heavy metal music and is responsible for inspiring numerous subgenres of metal, most notably doom metal. Iommi was ranked number 13 on Rolling Stone's 2023 list of the “250 Greatest Guitarists of all Time.
Born Again is the eleventh studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath. Released on 9 September 1983, it is the only album the group recorded with lead vocalist Ian Gillan, best known for his work with Deep Purple. It was also the last Black Sabbath album for 9 years to feature original bassist Geezer Butler and the last to feature original drummer Bill Ward, though Ward did record a studio track with the band 15 years later on their 1998 live album Reunion. The album has received mixed reviews from critics, but was a commercial success upon its 1983 release, reaching No. 4 in the UK charts. The album also hit the top 40 in the United States. In July 2021, guitarist and founding member Tony Iommi confirmed that the long lost original master tapes of the album had been finally located, and that he was considering remixing the album for a future re-release.
"Highway Star" is a song by the English rock band Deep Purple. It is the opening track on the band's sixth studio album Machine Head (1972) and is the fastest tempo song on the album. It is characterised by long, classically inspired guitar and organ solos.
The Best of Black Sabbath is a double CD compilation album by Black Sabbath released in 2000 on the Sanctuary Records label. Its 32 songs are presented chronologically from the band's first 11 albums, spanning the years 1970 to 1983. Black Sabbath's classic six-album run, from 1970s debut Black Sabbath through 1975's Sabotage is celebrated with three to six songs from each album. Original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne's subsequent final two albums with the band, 1976's Technical Ecstasy and 1978's Never Say Die!, are represented by one and two songs, respectively. Replacement Ronnie James Dio's early 80's stint fronting the band on two albums is acknowledged with the title track of 1980's Heaven and Hell and a track from 1981's The Mob Rules. The compilation closes with a song from 1983's attempted rebirth, Born Again, former Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan's sole album with the band. The Best of Black Sabbath does not include any later material with vocalists Glenn Hughes, Tony Martin (1986–96) or the returning Dio.
Who Cares a Lot? The Greatest Hits is a greatest hits retrospective compilation album by American rock band Faith No More. It was released on compact disc and compact cassette by Slash Records and London Records in Britain and Europe on November 24, 1998, and by Slash Records and Reprise Records in North America on December 8, 1998. On January 8, 2021, Slash Records and Rhino Records re-issued the compilation on phonograph record.
"We Care a Lot" is a song by American rock band Faith No More. There are three versions of the song, all of which have been officially released over three different albums. The original was recorded for and released on the band's first studio album, We Care a Lot. A re-recorded version, with new lyrics, was included on the album Introduce Yourself and was the lead single, reaching number 53 on the UK Singles Chart. The live version, without original singer Chuck Mosley, was included on the live album and video Live at the Brixton Academy and was also released as a single in 1991. It was the second most frequently-played song during the band's live performances, behind "Epic". "We Care a Lot" featured different lyrics and ad-libs when performed by Mike Patton, much like performances of "Chinese Arithmetic".
The Sabbath Stones (1996) is a compilation album of Black Sabbath songs taken from albums ranging from 1983's Born Again to 1995's Forbidden. It was never formally released in the US or Canada, and was the last album to be released by Black Sabbath with I.R.S. Records.
Ian Gillan is an English singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice.
Rock Aid Armenia, also known in earlier stages as Live Aid Armenia, was a humanitarian effort by the British music industry to raise money to help those affected by the 1988 Armenian earthquake.
Michael Lee Jackson is an American guitarist, photographer and attorney.
"Trashed" is the opening song and first single from the 1983 album Born Again by English rock band Black Sabbath.
"Out of My Mind" / "Holy Water" is a fund-raising two-track CD single from the supergroup WhoCares, a Tony Iommi and Ian Gillan collaboration, a direct continuation of the Rock Aid Armenia project. The CD contains the single "Out of My Mind" and the song "Holy Water" with the latter using the traditional Armenian instrument, the duduk by two Armenian musicians Arshak Sahakyan and Ara Gevorgyan. Both tracks of the CD were recorded at SARM Studios in Notting Hill, London.
WhoCares, full title Ian Gillan & Tony Iommi: WhoCares, is a music project by Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan and Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and a charity release by the supergroup WhoCares they had formed with the help of other musicians, to raise money to rebuild a music school in Gyumri, Armenia after the destruction of the city in the 1988 earthquake in Armenia.
WhoCares was a supergroup formed by Ian Gillan of Deep Purple and Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath in 2011 with the participation of a great number of rock artists as a charity project to raise money to rebuild a music school in Gyumri, Armenia, after the destruction of the city in the 1988 earthquake in Armenia. The album sold more than 20,000 copies in Europe.
Ian Gillan may refer to: