This body of work sees Oliver carefully crafting a "cowboy emo" aesthetic unlike anything you've seen or heard. Oliver decided to craft an album that was more focused and draws equally from the genres of alternative, pop and country, taking sonic inspiration from everyone from Sugar Ray to R.E.M. From the album's opener and first single "Cowboys Don't Cry" to the acoustic-based anthem "Freaks & Geeks" to the electronica-inspired experimentation of "Things We Used To Do," Cowboy Tears is social commentary disguised as saccharine pop-and what's most impressive is the way the album succeeds on both counts. "I think one of my biggest strengths as an artist is the fact that I'm able to step back and see where there are holes in the pop-culture matrix," Oliver explains when asked about his overall vision for Cowboy Tears.
