Oliver Tree on Being Music’s Biggest Troll, His Country Reinvention and Imminent Retirement

variety.com:

Mike Wass A cartoon character by design, Oliver Tree’s comical image and mastery of over-the-top gimmickry can be a double-edged sword.

Simultaneously a living, breathing meme and a genre-fusing sonic adventurer of the highest caliber, this is an artist who artfully combined alt-rock, pop and electronica on 2020’s “Ugly Is Beautiful” — while going viral for performing on stilts and riding the world’s biggest scooter.

Instead of returning to that wacky musical well, the 28-year-old reinvents himself as a country star on his sophomore album, mixing pathos with pristine hooks on “Cowboy Tears” (out today).Tree’s change of direction is a result of spending six months of the pandemic at his grandparents’ ranch in Northern California.

He didn’t intend to write a new record, but inspiration took hold. “My grandfather was a cowboy, his grandfather was a cowboy,” Tree tells Variety. “It’s just something that’s part of my lineage.” Even so, the resulting album was a shock to both the artist and his fanbase: “I never would have guessed that I’d make a country album, and I think my fans feel the same way.” Like many a twangy opus, “Cowboy Tears” is about a breakup.