The day finally arrived - Optimist, Finneas' debut album, was released last week and to say that we received what we wanted to is an understatement. This man never fails to go above and beyond. With hints of what this album would contain such as his singles What They'll Say About Us and The 90's, we knew along the lines what we would receive in this album.
For starters - Finneas is, no news to us, a lyrical genius. He has been able to put things I feel into words I've been unable to find. But something I'd specifically like to highlight something he did in his song Hurt Locker. Using camera notations such as Pan down and Close Up, he details his lyrics as if it were a script for a film. No one, that I'm aware of, has done this before, and to say that I was blown away is absolutely true.
Creativity seems to be like Finneas' first language, as if he knows exactly what he's doing like it is the back of his hand. He creates beautiful imagery, stories, and more simply through his lyrics alone, even minus the actual music. It is almost as if he has created his own world.
With the aesthetics of fantastical ballerina wind-ups and intertwined illustrations and animations, even Finneas' lyric videos seem like art. His concepts are unique and full of an atmosphere only he has been able to create. This world of his is emphasised by all his music videos being placed in one location each time.
From songs that will make you cry like Love Is Pain to songs that will make you dance like Around My Neck, Finneas shows his ability to produce range and his versatility as a musician and artist.
Ultimately, this album encapsulates beauty of heartbreak, love, life, and everything in between. I truly believe there is not a musician out there quite like Finneas, who, even a single touch of his on others' work is evident (Billie and Ashe as example). This album is beautiful, beginning to end, and is very much worth streaming.
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