After a two-year hiatus, and in a tumultuous time personally, Alex O’Connor – professionally known as Rex Orange County – has returned with his highly anticipated new album, The Alexander Technique. Leaving the bedroom pop sound of 2022’s WHO CARES? O’Connor has delved into a naked, vulnerable sound on his new album, using themes from his troubled youth, combined with his last two years to create what he calls a “diary entry”, a more personal and honest reflection of the darker stages of his life.
10 years on from his debut album Bcos U Will Never B Free, O’Connor has come on leaps and bounds with his lyricism, production and intent behind both his tracks and records. Talking to Billboard, he said, “I had this weird thing for the first three years of my career where every song that came out was every song I’d ever written”. Clearly on The Alexander Technique, every track on the 16-song tracklist has been chosen with care and deliberation. More than ever, Rex has become selective and decisive on songs, which is clear evidence of his growing maturity within music.
The Alexander Technique was produced entirely by Rex himself alongside Teo Halm – who has contributed with the likes of SZA, Beyoncé – and drummer Jim Reed, a member of the Rex Orange County touring band since its inception. In addition, James Blake made an appearance producing and featuring on the 14th track, “Look Me In The Eyes.”
It certainly feels like this album has been made for the real Alex O’Connor, and shifted away from his Rex Orange County stage name. The opening track, “Alexander”, serves as a double meaning, firstly describing the medical process of the Alexander Technique, a procedure that helps to relieve the stress on your body, but also the story of O’Connor, who perhaps masked his inner pain with back pain whilst at a doctor’s appointment in 2019.
“I may be using my back pain to distract from the pain of life” is evidence of Rex’s struggles in his earlier life, and also comments on men’s mental health, an issue that has become paramount amongst modern society.
Furthermore, on the second track “Guitar Song”, Rex opens up with even more revealing and open lyrics, doused with the single use of his guitar to add that personal touch. Seeing this song performed live at his album opening show at Pryzm (Kingston-upon-Thames, London), this tune seemed especially cathartic for Rex, and whilst performing, the crowd was reduced to silence, simply in awe of the simplicity and perfection of the stunning vocals and nostalgic melody.
Nature is also woven effortlessly into The Alexander Technique, and O’Connor uses the beauty of nature within both the lyrics and music videos filmed for the album release. A track where nature lays forefront is the “The Table”. Throughout the tune, nature serves as this sturdy and reliable anchor that often goes unnoticed in day-to-day life, but then when life gets tough and we need it, it can often comfort us and allow us to reconnect back with life.
The track is split into two sections, the first concerning ‘The Table’ and the second about ‘A stranger’. As a bystander, we can raise many questions about both these things, and this is what O’Connor does, flooding us with question after question throughout the song. ‘Who sat beneath that tree?’ and ‘Do they feel their job is boring?’ shows that rising out of our personal bubbles can be refreshing at times, and Rex is using this outer perspective to appreciate more in his life.
Overall it’s an album that deserts the traditional Rex Orange County pop crowd-pleasers, like “THE SHADE” and “Television/So Far So Good” and delves into more heartfelt, “Pluto Projector”-sounding tunes. Perhaps designed for the fans that have remained with him over the last couple of years where his personal life has become increasingly challenging, The Alexander Technique delivers in poignant and sombre songwriting, less-is-more production and symbolises his maturity and growth within music.
8/10
