After a two year hiatus, with some singles released along the way, Rex Orange County has returned with his new album Pony.

Rex Orange County released his debut album “bcos u will never b free“ on SoundCloud in 2016, which landed him a management team. One year later Rex would go on to release his second album, Apricot Princess. This album caught the attention of Tyler the Creator, who put him on the album Flower Boy, as a way to show his appreciation for the album.

Now with Rex’s third album, Pony, does it carry the same energy and charisma? Besides a couple tracks on this record, no.

“10/10” is the first song on the album, and expresses the singers fall into sadness and depression, and how he is now doing better, after cutting all the fake people out of his life. It is An overall good track, similar to his usual song with glum lyrics with a happy tone.

“Always” follows up, with a slow paced, lovely melody, with saxophones sweeping in and out the song, and in it, Rex speaks about not being able to let go of what he loves, and how he wants to feel better.

The third track, “Laser Lights,” is the first track on the album that just didn’t sit with me well, most likely because it sounds just like the earlier track. “Face To Face” is another mediocre track, with how boring and uninteresting the lyrics and instrumental is.

The 5th and 6th track, “Stressed Out” and “Never Had The Balls” continue the boring and monotone atmosphere and tone of this album, compared to the albums beforehand, these songs don’t carry the same impact and twists in the instrumentals and lyrics like the older projects.

However, this album gets saved by the 7th track, “Pluto Projector.” The fact that this wasn’t the lead single of this album blows my mind. This song makes every other song (besides 2) on this album look much worse than they are. It’s what a Rex song should be like, and has quickly become one of my favorite tracks by Rex that he’s ever released.

But then the album dies down with “Every Way” and “It Gets Better,” the latter track is quite enjoyable though, and has its traditional beat switch that Rex enjoys in his songs.

The album ends with the 6 minute track “It’s Not The Same Anymore,” a track about growing up, and reflecting on past choices. It pulls up the album as a whole, and ties together everything in what starts out as a sad song, and transitions into a heartwarming melody about growing up and realizing that change can sometimes be a good thing.

This album definitely needs more than one listen to make a judgment of it. From the amount of times I’ve listened to it, I have to give it a 5 out of 10. It has interesting tracks, but its held back by the uninspired, boring tracks that take up most of the album.