FINNEAS’ most recent album “Optimist” released on October 15th of 2021, uses a combination of melodic and impassioned vocals. As well as various instruments and sounds to deliver lyrics equivalent to poetry, that embody messages with more meaning than a listener may initially absorb.
This album features 13 songs and delves into timeless and compelling topics that listeners of any generation can identify with. Some of the most notable concepts include cancel culture, the price that fame has on those who ultimately obtain it, and the difficulty of maintaining a stable and healthy relationship.
The first topic is cancel culture. The New York Post says that cancel culture is “the phenomenon of promoting the “cancelling” of people, brands, shows and movies due to what some consider to be offensive or problematic remarks or ideologies.” The song Medieval covers this topic by paralleling fame and cancel culture to being royalty during medieval times. The lyrics, “Have you ever seen what really happens to people like me when we go out of fashion. They’re gonna tear you from your pedestal it’s almost inevitable,” are talking about how when people who are famous do something controversial or become irrelevant, they are torn down from their status. This is similar to a medieval royalty losing their crown, they lose their followers or in medieval times, they would lose their subjects. Another impactful line is, “I never said it would be any fun you never shoulda trusted anyone. They’ll love you till you’re done then it’s off with his head.” With this analogy, FINNEAS is comparing the use of the guillotine when executing criminals or people guilty of crimes such as treason or conspiracy in the medieval times to the “death” of people’s fame when they are cancelled.
The next topic is the price of fame. This concept is covered in multiple songs in FINNEAS’ “Optimist” album. The first song is Someone Else’s Star. This song uses lyrics such as, “now all your memories feel more like films you put them on to see which ones still kill. You wonder why the bad ones pay the bills,” talk about how many artists feel required to include memories and experiences that may be painful to remember into their pieces because those tend to be more successful. This statement is proven to be true; albums or songs that focus on heartbreak tend to do very well and bring artists the most recognition. The second song covering this topic is Happy Now? which discusses the issue of people thinking fame will make them happy, but after obtaining it, realizing that it is not at all what they expected. The lines, “Nothing feels better than buying love when push comes to shove, “I’m lonely” and, “With everybody talking ‘bout you. You won’t remember who you are,” talk about how everybody expects to be surrounded by people who love and adore them once they become famous. However, what often ends up happening is that people who are the most famous tend to feel the loneliest, and this is something people are not told about.
Lastly, the topic of working hard to sustain a healthy and loving relationship is covered in the song Love is Pain. This entire song is a testament to the difficulty of maintaining a healthy relationship as well as, the pain that comes with death. It also highlights how death, as scary as it might be, can also be used as an incentive to live life to the fullest and love as much as you can. In an interview FINNEAS made a statement about this song saying death “always felt very real to me and very matter of fact. And I think, you know, there’s a good side of that. You’re grateful for moments that you have with people, and you don’t take time for granted.” He also confirms the meaning of the song stating, “To me, this song was kind of about the ongoing struggle to maintain a healthy, balanced relationship with somebody who you love.” The lyrics that speak to these statements include, “if it’s easy, if it’s fun, somethings missing,” and, “it’s not enough to be in love you have to prove it somehow.” These provoking lyrics really cause the listener to think about what love is and how even though love is a beautiful and amazing thing, it is also painful and difficult.
Overall, the new FINNEAS album “Optimist” contains lyrics that are extremely compelling when picked apart, and if you have not listened to it yet, it is definitely worth your time. Go check it out and see what you think!