Review Summary: “Don’t say it’s what you need / I’d say it’s what you wanted...”
At first glance, I can fully understand why Oliver Tree might turn some listeners off. His character’s gaudy meme aesthetic -- complete with ironic bowl cut, kitschy outfits, and cartoonishly surreal music videos -- seems better left to the annals of 2010s internet culture. But you know where I’m going with this. It was Oliver’s goofy image that made my first experiences with his music so jarring and, ultimately, so rewarding. Coming off the heels of an extensive hype campaign, including an EP and an abundance of singles,
Ugly Is Beautiful was met with expectations from all sides. Whether all those expectations were met, I don’t know and I don’t care. What I can say is that the record registers with my own ears as an eclectic, endlessly fun triumph of modern pop.
The defining musical aspect of
Ugly Is Beautiful is certainly its diversity. Oliver rides his scooter through a barrage of alternative rock, hip-hop, electropop, and everything in between with reckless abandon. His penchant for experimentation is evident right out of the gate with the one-two punch of “Me, Myself & I” and “1993”, the former a driving pop-rock anthem and the latter a thumping EDM bop whose polished bass groove is an album highlight. This impressive versatility is proven time and time again throughout the tracklist. Fiery rap verses and crisp production flourishes populate “Bury Me Alive” and “Joke’s on You!”. Wistful indie-rocker “Again & Again” features some of the record’s most memorable vocal melodies. “Waste My Time” is jumpy, radio-ready pop punk with irresistible chord progressions and a disarmingly poignant outro. For my money, the album hits its peak with “Hurt”, a jaded mix of punkish energy and deft alt-pop sheen that got me into Oliver Tree’s work in the first place. Where the music falters is in its compositional strength and consistency, or lack thereof. Despite a memorable hook, “Let Me Down” is the biggest offender here, its half-baked verse-chorus structure unable to extend itself beyond a paltry two minutes. “Miracle Man” boasts creative melodies and dynamic instrumentation, but its ideas could also use some expansion in the interest of telling a more complete story through the music. A less-is-more approach may have guided Oliver on some of these tracks, and maybe my desire for more is actually vindicating. But would it really spoil listeners if such compelling material was fleshed out to, say, the three-minute mark?
In the lyrical department,
Ugly Is Beautiful might resonate with anyone between the ages of 10 and 40. Its angst-filled musings on modern pop culture, social hypocrisy, personal growth and defeat, and a tragic scooter accident all make for enticing subject matter. “Cash Machine” stands out with its vivid critique of greed and materialism. While somewhat superfluous on the tracklisting over two years after its initial release, “Alien Boy” earns its keep with a quirky narrative about feeling, well,
alienated from one’s fellow human beings. “I’m Gone” serves as a powerful closer largely on the strength of its ultra-dour chronicling of Oliver’s disillusionment with his career. Still, it’s hard to ignore the few occasions where his lyrics descend into adolescent bile. “Jerk” could use a bit more creativity in its spiteful condemnation of people who 'really don't like you' and treat others like trash. Likewise, it’s hard to find inspiration in the lines of “Joke’s on You!”, which read like phrases I might’ve scribbled in a middle-school notebook on a particularly bad day (“My whole life was just a joke / But I’m still not laughing”). But this also speaks to the wide and fluctuating relatability of Oliver’s lyrics that I touched on earlier. Every song might hit someone of a different age group in a different way, and it’s no surprise that the 27-year old songwriter seems to vacillate between the petty anxieties of youth and the real-world stresses of adulthood. This isn’t something to rag on too harshly but a natural outcome that, at the end of the day, only makes the themes of
Ugly Is Beautiful more resonant.
If
Ugly Is Beautiful truly marks the end of Oliver Tree’s foray into music (rather than, as I suspect, the mere death of a character), it makes for a wildly premature conclusion to a career that promised some of the most exciting pop music of the new decade. Everything about the long-awaited album, both the good and the not-as-good, suggests nothing but potential for growth. While his compositional skills are unrefined, Oliver’s ability to craft a hook, his potent lyrics, and his willingness to experiment with every sound under the sun are invaluable traits in any serious pop artist. Should new material emerge from his bowl-shaped cranium in the future, this lively debut gives me every reason to come back for more.
