Oliver Tree - Miss You

Single

3 Jan

‘Miss You’ is the latest single released by one of the funniest characters in modern music. An absolute firestorm of a track is well deserving of the cover art. After bursting onto the scene with the album ‘Ugly is Beautiful’, Oliver has announced themselves.

The meta in which artists such as Oliver Tree and Lil Nas X approached the music industry was by creating short, catchy songs that lend themselves to radio play. The whole song is tailored to emphasise the chorus. It is repeated as frequently as possible, giving the benefits of being ridiculously catchy and allowing for more effortless syncing with TikTok videos and other short-form content.

Both artists used new and innovative marketing strategies to promote their work, playing with the algorithms that have become a part of our daily lives. They opted for snappier and more energetic tracks accompanying viral video after viral video. There would be days when the melodies and hooks of both Lil Nas X’s ‘Old town road’ or Tree’s ‘Alien Boy’ and ‘Life Goes On’ would enter your mind constantly, and more power to them for that.

I believe with Oliver’s latest release. We could be seeing a perfect storm of compiled influences. But, instead, ‘Miss You’ harkens back to Eurodance classics; it utilises energetic chord stabs, syncopated justly, with a pulsating offbeat bass that signals those on the dance floor to raise their arms.

We have elements of trance and Eurodance all wrapped up in a Y2K revival bow. This instantly transported me to the costa del dancefloor in sunny somewhere off the coast of Spain. The use of the genre’s elements work to the tracks benefit, and ‘Miss You’ becomes THE cheesy banger, the guilty pleasure, the one you have in the separate playlist, but it’s also the one that makes you groove the hardest.

It’s the quintessential dancing in the rain over the breakup song. Images of people pulling their timid mate into the middle of the dance floor and teaching them how to let go. Showing them eyes closed, arms up, feet-a-grooving is the only way to get over whatever ails you.

I see this track taking the Y2K aesthetic to a new place. Some might call it nostalgia, but I think it’s something more, something different. It’s nostalgia for something you’ve never experienced. It’s very much the club in your mind. Oliver tree has captured that spark of excitement that the Y2K revival has been exploring.

Oliver tree is a walking meme, and most would say don’t take them seriously when they’re calling out the Paul brothers (famous YouTubers to those lucky enough not to be as enthralled in YouTube drama as I am). However, Oliver has captured what I, as a late 20s UK born, have longed for. I didn’t resonate with the Y2K thing because I was, in all honesty, gatekeeping the five years of the 90’s I was too young even to remember. However, I remember that the music was fun, though cheesy at times, and ultimately it positively spoke to people.

And, as ever, the hook is to the point, direct and catchy as all hell. Tell me you’ve never felt:

Don't fret
I don't ever wanna see you
And I never wanna miss you again
One thing
When you're angry, you're a jerk
And then you treat me like I'm worth nothin'

And to go on to double down with:

It'll happen again
I watch it happen over and over again

It’s poetic, blunt and honest.

Tracklist: