Rex Orange County serenades us with love song on Valentine’s day

Home Culture Rex Orange County serenades us with love song on Valentine’s day
Rex Orange County serenades us with love song on Valentine’s day
Rex Orange County releases another single leading up to new album.

Rex Orange County’s newest single “AMAZING” is the classic boy-meets-girl tale. 

Released on Valentine’s Day, the song tells the story of two lovebirds. A boy sees a girl from across the room, and he can’t take his eyes off her. The lyrics are reassuring and forward-looking, while the instrumentation is warm and nostalgic. The production quality, from the strings in the intro to the vocal harmonies and ad-libs throughout, is impeccable. 

Rex Orange County continues to find ways to make musically simple songs sound complex. Less than three weeks after the release of his single “KEEP IT UP,” Rex Orange County seems to be on a roll. The full album “WHO CARES?” comes out on March 11.

Born Alexander O’Connor, the multi-platinum artist grew up in Grayshott, England. He sang in choir, drummed, and later taught himself piano. O’Connor released his first mixtape titled “Bcos U Will Never B Free” in 2015, at 17 years old. With influences like Stevie Wonder and Green Day, Rex Orange County’s sound could be described as pop with an alternative spin.  

I first heard of Rex Orange County, as I presume many did, from a non-album single called “Sunflower,” his second-most streamed song on Spotify—his top three most-streamed songs are all non-album singles released in 2017. “Sunflower” starts as a slow and jazzy ballad, singing about missing a girl, then changes to a more pop groove as it shifts to a positive perspective, saying that a “sunflower still grows at night.” 

Rex Orange County has kept developing as an artist, with both of his new singles having a distinct sound. “AMAZING” has a similar string intro to “KEEP IT UP,” leaving many wondering whether that was a coincidence or not. The songs are even in the same key, A-flat. 

What sets this song apart from a lot of contemporary music is its chord progression. In the verse, because the first three chords are the I, vi, and IV, our ear expects the next chord to be the V, the dominant chord that leads us back to the I. Instead, he provides a iv6, minor 4 as opposed to the major 4 in the key, which usually is a sad-sounding transition. 

In this case, the minor 4-chord sounds a bit nostalgic, given the instrumentation in the song; if it were a slower song with piano as the main instrument, it would probably sound much sadder than it does in “AMAZING.” Overall, the song is unique, but familiar enough that it is likable.  

I’m curious to hear Rex Orange County’s sound develop further in his upcoming album, as I hope you are too.