Maps of Music

Cowboy Tears (2022)

Where the lyrics of Cowboy Tears take you, and where it was really made.

The singer had said his 2020 debut would be his last release before he retired from music, yet he came out of retirement to record this album.

Key places

Recording at NRG Recording Studios (2022)

Recording site NRG Recording Studios (Hollywood) — NRG Recording Studios is listed as a place where this album was recorded. The point uses the studio's building-level coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at The Lair (2022)

Recording site The Lair — The Lair is listed as a place where this album was recorded. The point uses the studio's building-level coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Ameraycan Recording Studios (2022)

Recording site Ameraycan Recording Studios — Ameraycan Recording Studios is listed as a place where this album was recorded. The point uses the studio's building-level coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Cowboy Tears is the second major-label album by American singer-songwriter Oliver Tree
• Released February 18, 2022 through Atlantic Records
• Standard edition runs 13 tracks, total running time 34:36
• Deluxe edition, titled Cowboy Tears Drown the World in a Swimming Pool of Sorrow, released December 23, 2022, total running time 65:38

Background

• Before the album was announced, Oliver Tree had said many times that his 2020 debut album Ugly Is Beautiful would be his last release, and that he would retire from music afterward
• June 27, 2021: Instagram post said he had come out of retirement to record Cowboy Tears
• October 12, 2021: announced the Cowboy Tears Tour, a North American headlining tour to support the album, beginning February 19, 2022
• January 12, 2022: lead single Cowboys Don't Cry released with a music video starring actress Bella Thorne
• Same day: album release date of February 18 announced, album cover revealed, preorders launched
• February 3, 2022: second single Freaks & Geeks released with a music video
• February 18, 2022: music video for Swing & a Miss released on the album's release day
• May 20, 2022: single I Hate You released, and teasing of a deluxe edition began
• July 15, 2022: Placeholder, a single from the deluxe edition, released

Recording

• Oliver Tree: vocals, arrangement, additional mixing
• Jacob Dennis: mixing, engineering, vocal production
• Emerson Mancini: mastering
• Casey Mattson: additional mixing
• Cameron Hogan: engineering assistance on tracks 1–5, 10, 12, and 13
• Recording locations listed for the album: NRG Recording Studios, The Lair, Ameraycan Recording Studios

Cover

• Album cover revealed on January 12, 2022, together with the lead single announcement

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Oliver Tree Nickell (born June 29, 1993, Santa Cruz, California) is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, and musician classified as a "genre-defying musician".
• Born to parents who worked as traveling circus performers, he spent much of his childhood in a motor home before his family settled in Santa Cruz when he was 12.
• He began piano lessons at age three, started songwriting the following year, and joined the local ska band Irony in middle school, his first live performance experience.
• In high school he gravitated toward hip-hop and electronic music and worked as a DJ under the names Kryph and later Tree.
• He studied business at San Francisco State University for two years, then transferred to the California Institute of the Arts, graduating in 2016 with a degree in music technology.

Career

• He launched his solo career as "Tree" in 2010 and self-released the album Splitting Branches in 2013.
• In August 2013 he signed with London-based R&S Records and released the EP Demons, which gained attention after Radiohead's Thom Yorke approved of his cover of "Karma Police".
• In October 2016 he was featured on Whethan's "When I'm Down", and he then signed with Atlantic Records.
• His debut studio album Ugly Is Beautiful was released on July 17, 2020, and included the RIAA gold and platinum-certified singles "Alien Boy", "Hurt", "Miracle Man" and "Let Me Down".
• His breakthrough came with "Life Goes On" (2021) and "Miss You" (2022).
• He released the studio albums Cowboy Tears (February 2022), Alone in a Crowd (September 2023) and Love You Madly Hate You Badly (April 2026).
• In April 2026 he left Atlantic Records to release the album independently through his own imprint, Alien Boy Records.
• He died on June 14, 2026, in a helicopter crash in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during his world tour; the cause is under investigation.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Released February 18, 2022 through Atlantic Records as the second major-label album by Oliver Tree
• Lead single Cowboys Don't Cry arrived on January 12, 2022, ahead of the album
• Second single Freaks & Geeks followed on February 3, 2022
• Music video for Swing & a Miss released on the release day, February 18, 2022
• Cowboy Tears Tour began February 19, 2022, one day after the release

Reappraisal

• No critic review or publication rating appears in the available text for this album
• Italian Wikipedia gives the same February 18, 2022 release date and Atlantic as the label

Records

• Standard edition total running time: 34:36
• Deluxe edition total running time: 65:38
• Deluxe edition released December 23, 2022
• No chart position or sales certification is recorded in the available text

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Oliver Tree had said Ugly Is Beautiful would be his last release, then returned from retirement to record this album
• The lead single Cowboys Don't Cry came with a music video starring actress Bella Thorne
• Cowboy Tears Tour started February 19, 2022, the day after the album's release
• On August 9, 2022 he revealed in an interview that the deluxe edition would be titled Cowboy Tears Drown the World in a Swimming Pool of Sorrow, and that he had worked with Travis Barker on it
• The deluxe edition came out December 23, 2022, and its Suitcase Full of Cash music video had been released the day before

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

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