Oliver Tree - Alone In A Crowd (LP) - Clear Red Vinyl

Oliver Tree’s third studio album, Alone in a Crowd, landed on 29 September 2023 via Atlantic Records, and it plays like the sharpest distillation of his oddball pop instincts and his knack for satire. He leans into a new character for this era, a fashion-world caricature that pops up across the videos and artwork, and uses that setting to poke at hype, loneliness and the churn of online fame. It is a concept that could have felt like a skit, but he threads it through songs that are tight, catchy and surprisingly tender once the mask slips.

The singles did a lot of the heavy lifting. Bounce barrels in with a rubbery bass line and a chant-ready hook that feels built for festival fields, all while Oliver keeps that dry, slightly nasal delivery steady in the pocket. One & Only is the other immediate entry point, a sweet-and-sour love song that tucks a big pop chorus inside crunchy guitars and snappy drums. He has always walked the line between alt-pop prankster and straight-up hitmaker, and these tracks show how comfortable he’s become with both sides. They are the kind of tunes that make sense blasting from a car, but they also reveal little production quirks on closer listens, the kind of ear candy that fans love.

Across the album he pushes between bright, hooky singalongs and moments that feel a touch bruised. The writing still plays with meme-ready punchlines, but there is a through-line about isolation in public that keeps the record from skimming the surface. That theme fits the fashion-circus framing of the visuals, which he directed or co-directed himself. The videos roam through European streets and photo sets, sending up runway culture while letting the songs breathe. It is classic Oliver Tree, part pop spectacle, part self-aware prank, and part diary entry snuck in while no one is looking.

What helps is the sound palette. He blends neon synths with distortion-smeared guitars, then pins the whole lot to drums that thud in a very modern way. It gives the record its bounce, but also room for his voice to sit up front. That voice is steady and conversational, rarely showy, which fits the lyrics. You feel the shrug in his tone when he sings about fair weather friends or the way people project onto him, but the choruses never sag. There is a reason fans shout these lines back at shows on the Alone in a Crowd tour. They land.

If you are the kind of listener who first met him through earlier hits, this album tightens the screws. The pacing is lean, with only a couple of mid-tempo tracks letting things exhale before he kicks back into gear. That makes it a satisfying front-to-back spin, especially on wax, where the low end feels warm and the top end sits crisp without turning harsh. If you have been eyeing Oliver Tree vinyl, this one earns its spot next to his previous full-lengths. Coloured variants and standard black pressings have been floating around, and they do the artwork justice on a big sleeve.

There is a lot of chatter online about where he sits in the pop universe, but Alone in a Crowd cuts through that noise. It is not trying to reinvent his wheel. Instead, it refines it. The jokes are still there, but the songs are less throwaway and the production has a bit more bite. You can hear how much care goes into the arrangements, from the way backing vocals lift a hook to the little synth stabs that only appear once. He has always been a visual artist as much as a musician, and this time the two sides lock in cleanly.

For collectors, this is a tidy gateway into Oliver Tree albums on vinyl. If you want to buy Oliver Tree records online in Australia, most shops have kept this title in stock, and a good Melbourne record store will likely have a copy in the new arrivals bin next to other current pop oddities. Search terms like Alone in a Crowd vinyl will get you there, but the real joy is dropping the needle and letting the first side surge by before you even think about lifting it.

It is easy to be cynical about artists who build characters around their music. Oliver’s trick is using the bit to invite you closer rather than keep you at arm’s length. Alone in a Crowd is funny, loud and full of hooks, but it is also a clear snapshot of how he sees the circus from the inside. That honesty, tucked inside all the spectacle, is what makes the album stick.