Optimist (album)

For similarly titled albums, see Optimist (disambiguation).

Optimist is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Finneas, released on October 15, 2021, through his record label OYOY, distributed by Interscope Records.^[1] The album was entirely produced and written by Finneas. It was preceded by the singles "What They'll Say About Us", "A Concert Six Months from Now", and "The 90s".^[2]

Optimist
Studio album by Finneas
Released	October 15, 2021 (2021-10-15)
Genre	Alternative pop
Length	43:01
Label	OYOY Interscope
Producer	Finneas
Finneas chronology
Blood Harmony (2019) Optimist (2021) For Cryin' Out Loud! (2024)
Singles from Optimist
"What They'll Say About Us" Released: September 2, 2020 "A Concert Six Months from Now" Released: August 5, 2021 "The 90s" Released: September 2, 2021 "Love Is Pain" Released: October 14, 2021 "Only a Lifetime" Released: December 15, 2021 "The Kids Are All Dying" Released: January 12, 2022

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	72/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Dork	[5]
Gigwise	[6]
The Guardian	[7]
The Independent	[8]
The Line of Best Fit	8/10[9]
NME	[10]
Pitchfork	5.6/10[11]
Rolling Stone	[12]
The Sydney Morning Herald	[13]

On review aggregator Metacritic, Optimist received a score of 72 out of 100 based on ten critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.^[3]

Track listing

Optimist – Standard edition

No.	Title	Length
1.	"A Concert Six Months from Now"	3:25
2.	"The Kids Are All Dying"	2:47
3.	"Happy Now?"	2:52
4.	"Only a Lifetime"	4:16
5.	"The 90s"	3:23
6.	"Love Is Pain"	3:44
7.	"Peaches Etude"	2:15
8.	"Hurt Locker"	3:26
9.	"Medieval"	2:51
10.	"Someone Else's Star"	3:29
11.	"Around My Neck"	2:55
12.	"What They'll Say About Us"	3:01
13.	"How It Ends"	4:37
Total length:		43:01

All tracks are written by Finneas, except where noted

Optimist – Deluxe edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"The Kids Are All Dying" (live from Abbey Road Studios)		2:55
15.	"Only a Lifetime" (live from Abbey Road Studios)		4:16
16.	"Love Is Pain" (live from Abbey Road Studios)		3:32
17.	"The Fool on the Hill" (live from Abbey Road Studios)	John Lennon, Paul McCartney	3:13
Total length:			57:04

Personnel

Musicians Finneas – vocals, vocal arrangement, bass, drum programming, sound effects, synthesizer (1–6, 8–13); piano (all tracks), guitar (1–9, 12, 13) Isaiah Gage – cello (1) Johan Lenox – string arrangement (1) Yasmeen Al-Mazeedi – violin (1)

Technical Finneas – production Dave Kutch – mastering Rob Kinelski – mixing Justin Gammella – vocal editing (1–6, 8–10, 13) Casey Cuayo – mixing assistance Eli Heisler – mixing assistance

Charts

Chart performance for Optimist

Chart (2021)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14]	59
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15]	53
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16]	127
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17]	60
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18]	53
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19]	40
US Billboard 200[20]	104
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[21]	9

References

1. Minsker, Evan (August 5, 2021). "Finneas Announces Debut Album Optimist, Shares Video for New Song: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
2. Zemler, Emily (August 5, 2021). "Finneas Previews Debut Album With 'A Concert Six Months From Now'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
3. "Optimist by FINNEAS Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
4. Donelson, Marcy. "Finneas: Optimist". AllMusic. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
5. Ackroyd, Stephen (October 13, 2021). "FINNEAS – Optimist". Dork. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
6. Rigotti, Alex (October 15, 2021). "Album Review: Finneas 'Optimist'". Gigwise. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
7. Cragg, Michael (October 17, 2021). "Finneas: Optimist review – Billie Eilish's brother plays it straight". The Guardian. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
8. O'Connor, Roison (October 14, 2021). "Finneas review, Optimist: Stylistically, this debut album has everything". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
9. Dehollogne, Lauren (October 16, 2021). "Finneas chooses cinematic emotional balladry for his debut outing Optimist". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
10. Daly, Rhian (October 14, 2021). "Finneas – 'Optimist' review: Billie's brother and producer du jour strikes out alone". NME. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
11. Horn, Olivia (October 18, 2021). "FINNEAS: Optimist Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
12. Dolan, Jon (October 13, 2021). "Finneas Explores Grand Songwriterly Ambitions on 'Optimist'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
13. Lal, Kish (October 19, 2021). "Finneas steps out of Billie Eilish's shadow, but he's got a way to go". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
14. "Austriancharts.at – Finneas – Optimist" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
15. "Ultratop.be – Finneas – Optimist" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
16. "Ultratop.be – Finneas – Optimist" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Finneas – Optimist" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Finneas – Optimist" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
19. "Swisscharts.com – Finneas – Optimist". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
20. "Finneas Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
21. "Finneas Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2021.