Optimist (Standard Vinyl)＜限定盤＞

楽観主義者が見る今の世の中とは?

ビリー・アイリッシュの実の兄で、唯一のコラボレーターとしても知られるフィニアスが遂にユニバーサル ミュージックからソロ・デビュー!
第62回グラミー賞では、最優秀プロデューサー賞を含む計4部門を受賞。
セレーナ・ゴメスやカミラ・カベロなどの大スターたちの楽曲も手掛ける彼が、自身の創造性を絶大に発揮したアルバムが今ここに!

フィニアス (フィニアス・ベアード・オコネル)は、23歳、米ロサンゼルス在住のシンガー・ソングライター、音楽プロデューサー、俳優。ビリー・アイリッシュの実の兄で、彼女の唯一のコラボレーターとして、多数の楽曲をプロデュース。

セレーナ・ゴメスやカミラ・カベロなどの大スターたちにも楽曲を提供しており、その作詞作曲・プロデュース力には太鼓判が押されている。第62回のグラミー賞では5部門にノミネートされ、楽曲賞・アルバム技術賞・レコード賞・プロデューサー賞を受賞。

そんな彼が、ついにユニバーサル ミュージックからソロ・デビュー!「Optimist (楽観主義者)」と名付けられたアルバムには、冷静な洞察力を持ったフィニアスが見る、世の中へのメッセージが込められる。

After quickly rising to fame as co-writer and producer for his sister Billie Eilish and winning big-category Grammys for his sleek, intimate approach to both disciplines, Finneas OConnell makes his full-length solo debut with Optimist. It follows a second chart-topping Eilish album, Happier Than Ever, by three months. Taking its title from a reluctant line in the first track, Optimist is somewhat of a departure from the brooding, often suffocating tone of his kid sisters prior releases while at the same time indulging and repurposing his trademark sound. The most notable difference between the siblings is FINNEAS warmer, more assertive vocal presence on an album thats immersed in the absurdities and anxieties of its time. Released about a year-and-a-half into an ongoing pandemic with lingering touring ramifications Stateside, it opens with lead single A Concert Six Months from Now. Part lockdown fantasy and part un-breakup song, it looks forward to the possibility of both a show and a reconciliation in the distant-but-not-too-distant future. Beginning with strummed acoustic guitar, a flash of crowd noise, and melancholy, double-tracked octave vocals, it introduces distorted rock guitar and drums at the midway point, coinciding with lines like Ive been thinking too much/And its ruined my nights and My heart doesnt slow down/When you kill the lights. The song closes on acoustic guitar, soft strings, and an invitation. The overcast-but-hopeful outlook continues on The Kids Are All Dying, a song whose teasing tone, playful toy keyboard timbre, and stomping beat are offset by lyrics questioning the act of writing songs about sex, drugs, and rock & roll when the days news -- and planets future -- is so grim. Later, the slinky pop tune The 90s romanticizes a simpler time without smartphones. That song underscores lyrics about the heavy mental burden of worry with woozy, processed vocal effects. Contrasting these thoughtful Zoomer anthems are tuneful piano ballads like Love Is Pain and the heartrending (and again hopeful) What Theyll Say About Us, as well as catchier R&B-pop (Happy Now) and the eerie, intimate electro-pop of Around My Neck. While Optimist makes a good case for FINNEAS skills around a pop melody and a perceptive viewpoint, he also drops the instrumental piano piece Peaches Etude in the middle of the track list. Accordingly, the album plays like a portfolio, perhaps fitting for a musician still sorting out and amplifying his potential. ~ Marcy Donelson