The Optimist is the eleventh album by rock band Anathema. The album was released on 9 June 2017, through Kscope,[2] three years after their last release, Distant Satellites. The idea for The Optimist originated from the cover artwork of the album A Fine Day to Exit (2001).[2] The coordinates from the first track are pointing to Silver Strand beach in San Diego County, the location that is shown on the cover of A Fine Day to Exit. The Optimist won "Album of the Year" at the 2017 Progressive Music Awards.[3] It is the final album featuring bassist Jamie Cavanagh before he left the band a second time in 2018. It was the band's second UK Top 40 success, peaking at #34.
The album reportedly follows the concept of the band's 2001 release A Fine Day to Exit. According to band members Daniel and Vincent Cavanagh, the idea came from writing a narrative, culminating on what must have happened with the guy from that album cover. Vincent commented that "The guy who disappeared – you never knew what happened to him. Did he start a new life? Did he succumb to his fate? It was never explained. The opening track title is the exact coordinates for Silver Strand beach in San Diego – the last known location of The Optimist – shown on the cover of A Fine Day to Exit".[4] The covers of both albums also show its narrative connections, as the former contains a car in an empty beach during the day, and the latter a car in a road at night.
The album received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80 based on eight reviews, indicating "generally favorable".[5] Thom Jurek, reviewing for AllMusic, was highly positive about the release. He praised instrumental and vocal work on the album, as well the expansion of new elements in their music since the release of We're Here Because We're Here, "[...] widening a scope that would include more lush textures and atmospheres and result in some of their finest songs. Here Anathema have brought the experiments of the last seven years to a culmination of sorts." He then gave the album a score of 4 and a half starts out of 5.[6] Jordan Blum of PopMatters was also very positive about the release, also praising the overall evolution of the band's sound, stating that "The Optimist isn't Anathema's finest effort yet, but again, that's more of a compliment to their other releases this decade than it is a knock against this one." He also cited the vocal duo of Vincent Cavanagh and Lee Douglas, the lyricism and the arrangements as highlights of the album, giving it a score of 8 out of 10.[8] The diversity of elements, although praised by most reviewers, was criticized by some publishers. The Skinny's Pete Wild commented that, despite all the elements throughout their career, the band still failed to leave its mark on a mainstream audience. He concluded his review saying that it is an album for "our doomy times and is perhaps one best listened to at night, with a stiff drink in your hand and a serious expression on your face.", and gave it a score of 2 out of 5 stars.[11]
^"Stargazing Post-Progressive Rockers Anathema Return". Davidroywilliams.com. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
^ abAnathema reveals new album details The Prog Report, 24 March 2017
^"Marillion, Anathema, Steve Hackett among Progressive Music Award winners". Teamrock.com. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
^Munro, Scott (24 March 2017). "Anathema detail new album The Optimist". Loudersound.com. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
^ abc"The Optimist Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
^ abJurek, Thom. The Optimist - Anathema at AllMusic. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
^Miller, Gavin (6 June 2017). . Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
^ abBlum, Jordan (6 June 2017). "Anathema: The Optimist". PopMatters. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
^"Anathema - The Optimist album review". Teamrock.com. 27 May 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
^"Anathema: The Optimist". Sputnikmusic. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
^ abWild, Pete (5 June 2017). "Anathema: The Optimist". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
^. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
^Paulo Andrade, João (14 December 2017). "Classic Rock Magazine: Os 50 melhores álbuns de 2017". Whiplash.net. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
^"Metal Hammer's 100 best albums of 2017". Louder. Metal Hammer. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
^"The top 20 rock & metal albums of 2017". The Independent. 8 December 2017. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
^"Austriancharts.at – Anathema – The Optimist" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
^"Ultratop.be – Anathema – The Optimist" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
^"Ultratop.be – Anathema – The Optimist" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
^"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 24.Týden 2017 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
^"Dutchcharts.nl – Anathema – The Optimist" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
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The Optimist is the eleventh album by rock band Anathema The album was released on 9 June 2017 through Kscope 2 three years after their last release Distant Satellites The idea for The Optimist originated from the cover artwork of the album A Fine Day to Exit 2001 2 The coordinates from the first track are pointing to Silver Strand beach in San Diego County the location that is shown on the cover of A Fine Day to Exit The Optimist won Album of the Year at the 2017 Progressive Music Awards 3 It is the final album featuring bassist Jamie Cavanagh before he left the band a second time in 2018 It was the band s second UK Top 40 success peaking at 34 The OptimistStudio album by AnathemaReleased9 June 2017StudioAttica Audio in County Donegal Ireland Castle of Doom studios in GlasgowGenreAtmospheric rockpost progressive 1 Length56 27LabelKscopeProducerTony DooganAnathema chronologyDistant Satellites 2014 The Optimist 2017 Contents 1 Background 2 Critical reception 2 1 Accolades 3 Track listing 4 Personnel 5 Charts 6 ReferencesBackground editThe album reportedly follows the concept of the band s 2001 release A Fine Day to Exit According to band members Daniel and Vincent Cavanagh the idea came from writing a narrative culminating on what must have happened with the guy from that album cover Vincent commented that The guy who disappeared you never knew what happened to him Did he start a new life Did he succumb to his fate It was never explained The opening track title is the exact coordinates for Silver Strand beach in San Diego the last known location of The Optimist shown on the cover of A Fine Day to Exit 4 The covers of both albums also show its narrative connections as the former contains a car in an empty beach during the day and the latter a car in a road at night Critical reception editProfessional ratingsAggregate scoresSourceRatingMetacritic80 100 5 Review scoresSourceRatingAllMusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 6 Drowned in Sound8 10 7 Kerrang nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 5 PopMatters8 10 8 Metal Hammer nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 9 sputnikmusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 10 The Skinny nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 11 The album received positive reviews from music critics At Metacritic which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics the album received an average score of 80 based on eight reviews indicating generally favorable 5 Thom Jurek reviewing for AllMusic was highly positive about the release He praised instrumental and vocal work on the album as well the expansion of new elements in their music since the release of We re Here Because We re Here widening a scope that would include more lush textures and atmospheres and result in some of their finest songs Here Anathema have brought the experiments of the last seven years to a culmination of sorts He then gave the album a score of 4 and a half starts out of 5 6 Jordan Blum of PopMatters was also very positive about the release also praising the overall evolution of the band s sound stating that The Optimist isn t Anathema s finest effort yet but again that s more of a compliment to their other releases this decade than it is a knock against this one He also cited the vocal duo of Vincent Cavanagh and Lee Douglas the lyricism and the arrangements as highlights of the album giving it a score of 8 out of 10 8 The diversity of elements although praised by most reviewers was criticized by some publishers The Skinny s Pete Wild commented that despite all the elements throughout their career the band still failed to leave its mark on a mainstream audience He concluded his review saying that it is an album for our doomy times and is perhaps one best listened to at night with a stiff drink in your hand and a serious expression on your face and gave it a score of 2 out of 5 stars 11 Accolades edit Best of the year 2017 lists Publisher Accolade Rank AXS TV 10 Best Rock Albums of 2017 1 12 Classic Rock Top 50 Albums of 2017 5 13 Metal Hammer Top 100 Albums of 2017 15 14 The Independent Top 20 Rock and Metal Albums of 2017 19 15 Track listing editNo TitleWriter s Length1 32 63n 117 14w intro Daniel Cavanagh Vincent Cavanagh John Douglas1 162 Leaving It Behind V Cavanagh J Douglas4 283 Endless Ways D Cavanagh5 494 The Optimist D Cavanagh5 375 San Francisco instrumental D Cavanagh V Cavanagh4 596 Springfield D Cavanagh5 497 Ghosts D Cavanagh4 178 Can t Let Go V Cavanagh J Douglas5 009 Close Your Eyes D Cavanagh3 3810 Wildfires D Cavanagh5 3911 Back to the Start the main song ends at around 7 30 and a hidden song begins after three minutes of silence V Cavanagh J Douglas11 42Total length 58 14 Deluxe edition CDNo TitleWriter s Length1 Leaving It Behind demo V Cavanagh J Douglas4 432 The Optimist demo D Cavanagh3 523 Springfield live D Cavanagh4 524 Ghosts live D Cavanagh4 045 Can t Let Go live V Cavanagh J Douglas4 376 Wildfires demo D Cavanagh5 53Total length 28 01Personnel editDaniel Cavanagh guitars vocals keyboards bass Vincent Cavanagh vocals guitars keyboards programming bass Jamie Cavanagh bass John Douglas drums keyboards programming Lee Douglas vocals Daniel Cardoso drumsCharts editChart 2017 Peak position Austrian Albums O3 Austria 16 37 Belgian Albums Ultratop Flanders 17 44 Belgian Albums Ultratop Wallonia 18 53 Czech Albums CNS IFPI 19 23 Dutch Albums Album Top 100 20 22 Finnish Albums Suomen virallinen lista 21 10 French Albums SNEP 22 70 German Albums Offizielle Top 100 23 17 Italian Albums FIMI 24 41 Polish Albums ZPAV 25 7 Portuguese Albums AFP 26 50 Scottish Albums OCC 27 27 Swiss Albums Schweizer Hitparade 28 35 UK Albums OCC 29 34References edit Stargazing Post Progressive Rockers Anathema Return Davidroywilliams com 7 December 2017 Retrieved 4 March 2019 a b Anathema reveals new album details The Prog Report 24 March 2017 Marillion Anathema Steve Hackett among Progressive Music Award winners Teamrock com 14 September 2017 Retrieved 25 September 2017 Munro Scott 24 March 2017 Anathema detail new album The Optimist Loudersound com Retrieved 4 January 2022 a b c The Optimist Reviews Metacritic Retrieved 10 May 2017 a b Jurek Thom The Optimist Anathema at AllMusic Retrieved 10 May 2017 Miller Gavin 6 June 2017 Album Review Anathema The Optimist Drowned in Sound Archived from the original on 9 June 2017 Retrieved 10 June 2017 a b Blum Jordan 6 June 2017 Anathema The Optimist PopMatters Retrieved 10 June 2017 Anathema The Optimist album review Teamrock com 27 May 2017 Retrieved 2 June 2017 Anathema The Optimist Sputnikmusic 9 June 2017 Retrieved 14 December 2017 a b Wild Pete 5 June 2017 Anathema The Optimist Sputnikmusic Retrieved 14 December 2017 10 best rock albums of 2017 AXS Archived from the original on 15 December 2017 Retrieved 14 December 2017 Paulo Andrade Joao 14 December 2017 Classic Rock Magazine Os 50 melhores albuns de 2017 Whiplash net Retrieved 4 January 2022 Metal Hammer s 100 best albums of 2017 Louder Metal Hammer 15 December 2017 Retrieved 4 January 2022 The top 20 rock amp metal albums of 2017 The Independent 8 December 2017 Archived from the original on 18 June 2022 Retrieved 4 January 2022 Austriancharts at Anathema The Optimist in German Hung Medien Retrieved 21 June 2017 Ultratop be Anathema The Optimist in Dutch Hung Medien Retrieved 16 June 2017 Ultratop be Anathema The Optimist in French Hung Medien Retrieved 16 June 2017 Czech Albums Top 100 CNS IFPI Note On the chart page select 24 Tyden 2017 on the field besides the words CZ ALBUMS TOP 100 to retrieve the correct chart Retrieved 20 June 2017 Dutchcharts nl Anathema The Optimist in Dutch Hung Medien Retrieved 16 June 2017 Anathema The Optimist in Finnish Musiikkituottajat IFPI Finland Retrieved 18 June 2017 Le Top de la semaine Top Albums SNEP Week 24 2017 Syndicat National de l Edition Phonographique Retrieved 20 June 2017 Offiziellecharts de Anathema The Optimist in German GfK Entertainment Charts Retrieved 16 June 2017 Italiancharts com Anathema The Optimist Hung Medien Retrieved 17 June 2017 Oficjalna lista sprzedazy OLiS Official Retail Sales Chart OLiS Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry Retrieved 22 June 2017 Portuguesecharts com Anathema The Optimist Hung Medien Retrieved 21 June 2017 Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 17 June 2017 Swisscharts com Anathema The Optimist Hung Medien Retrieved 21 June 2017 Official Albums Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 17 June 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Optimist Anathema album amp oldid 1219330116, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
