On her seventh album, Madi Diaz questions her identity in the wake of a relationship’s end. Stripped to essentials – acoustic guitar and vocal – Fatal Optimist spotlights Diaz as she vacillates between confidence and doubt, congratulating, then criticizing herself, embracing fresh possibilities, then lamenting the life she has left behind.
Opener “Hope Less” references the commitment dilemmas many have faced: start over or persist with what is? Focus on incompatibilities or congruencies? Step into the unknown or linger in the familiar? The title is a play on words: “hopeless” the adjective versus “hope less” the imperative, Diaz mostly working with the latter. What does it mean to “hope less”? That we should strive to be in-the-moment rather than future-oriented? Accept the way things are rather than be preoccupied with our preferences?
