Optimist is FINNEAS’s most recent album, and it was released on October 15, 2021. It has thirteen incredible tracks. The album was produced and written by FINNEAS himself, and it can be found on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music.
This album is so incredibly raw and honest, and each song has a unique melody. Now you might only know FINNEAS as Billie Eilish’s brother, but this album will make you see him in a different light. It is no secret that FINNEAS is a great writer and producer, and this album is just further proof of that.
The album is a compilation of FINNEAS’s thoughts, opinions, and outlook on life. It is very different from anything that he has produced for his sister, and each song has a different sound and theme, which just makes the overall album ten times better.
Optimist starts with a song called “A Concert Six Months From Now”. Listening to this song is quite ironic, due to the circumstances in which we are living now. FINNEAS has said that this track was inspired by something that happened to him back in 2017.
The melody and the lyrics of the song are just pure gold. It’s a very chill track, and his voice, mixed with the guitar at the first half of the song, is just the chef’s kiss.
The third track of the album “Happy Now?” is so relatable yet so far-fetched. The song talks about how success does not equal happiness. In a sense, it’s relatable to most people, because there are times when you achieve something and you just feel empty, because the un-happiness and the hollowness are still there.
The song talks about the artist’s success in the music industry and how people expect him to be happy every day because of his lifestyle. The lyrics and music are so contradictory from each other, because the song has an upbeat melody, and yet the lyrics are so meaningful and true.
“Only A Lifetime” is the track on the album that will most likely make you cry. The lyrics just slap you in the face, while the melody kicks you in the gut. The song is so honest and expressive that it’s just impossible to skip.
The track explains how fast time passes by, and how you have an undefined amount of time to live your life to the fullest. It makes you reflect on your own life; the lyrics make you question yourself and they make you wonder if you are truly living or just going through the motions. 
The sixth track, “Love Is Pain”, could not be a more truthful title, and it is one of the best songs in the world. It talks about how wonderful love is, not only in a relationship, but in general.
The title says it all: love is indeed painful. The lyrics describe different situations, including a romantic relationship, and the thought of losing your parents or losing a friend. Loving someone is not easy. It can be a wonderful thing, but every wonderful thing eventually comes to an end.
The seventh track is very different from the rest of the album, because it is a piano solo. The song is called “Peaches Etude”, and it was inspired by FINNEAS’s dog Peaches.
The song is incredible and relaxing, and it allows you to prepare yourself for the next tracks, as well as to recover from the roller coaster of emotions that you have already experienced. (Spoiler alert: the ride is not over yet. Don’t put away your tissues yet. Just take a deep breath and let FINNEAS mess with your emotions for a few more minutes.)
“Hurt Locker” is my favorite song on the album. The vocals are incredible and the melody is pure gold. The track has references to The Hurt Locker, the Oscar-winning movie, about a soldier who has fought in the Iraq War and has trouble leaving that world behind.
The lyrics are very melancholic, and the song just messes you up in the most incredible way. It expresses how leaving things behind is hard, how change is difficult, and how a life without consequences is meaningless. The thing that caught my attention is a comparison between a person’s life and a bomb, which circles back to the theme of life and the consequences of your decisions.
“Medieval” talks about canceling culture and how everything just seems to repeat itself, specifically society in general. The song compares “cancel culture” to a monarchy. “I could tell you what happens to the new king/When he goes out of fashion”, the artist sings, which refers to when a monarch is killed so that someone else can rule. It highlights how this is all a never-ending cycle.
The last track on the album, “How It Ends”, deals with how life is short and you just have to enjoy it. People should see the beauty in the small things, and live in the moment. The beat is catchy and the lyrics just get stuck in your head. It is the perfect way to end this album.
Overall, Optimist is incredible. It takes you on a wild ride, and it makes you dance around and cry in a matter of minutes. This album is extremely underrated and you should listen to it. It has various genres and themes, and I promise you will not be disappointed.
If you liked this album, you might want to listen to “Music Of The Spheres”, by Coldplay, or “Blood Harmony”, also by FINNEAS.
