Daniel 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 – drums
The Optimist is the eleventh album by rock band Anathema. The album was released on June 9, 2017, through Kscope,[6] 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).[6] 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 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".[7] 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.
Track listing
1. "32.63N 117.14W" 1:18
2. "Leaving It Behind" 4:27
3. "Endless Ways" 5:50
4. "The Optimist" 5:37
5. "San Francisco" 5:00
6. "Springfield" 5:50
7. "Ghosts" 4:17
8. "Can't Let Go" 5:00
9. "Close Your Eyes" 3:40
10. "Wildfires" 5:40
11. "Back to the Start" (The song "Back to the Start" ends at 7:35. After 3 minutes of silence (7:35 - 10:35), begins an hidden song.) 11:48
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