Fatal Optimist

Last updated

Fatal Optimist
Fatal Optimist album cover.jpg
Studio album by
Madi Diaz
ReleasedOctober 10, 2025 (2025-10-10)
Length39:17
Label Anti-
Producer
  • Madi Diaz
  • Gabe Wax
Madi Diaz chronology
Weird Faith
(2024)		Fatal Optimist
(2025)
Singles from Fatal Optimist
  1. "Feel Something"
    Released: July 21, 2025 [1]
  2. "Ambivalence"
    Released: August 18, 2025 [2]
  3. "Heavy Metal"
    Released: September 15, 2025 [3]
  4. "Why'd You Have to Bring Me Flowers"
    Released: October 6, 2025 [4]

Fatal Optimist is the seventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Madi Diaz. The album was released on October 10, 2025, by Anti-.

Contents

Background and production

In 2021, Diaz released History of a Feeling , her fifth studio album, about her breakup with the American singer-songwriter Teddy Geiger. [5] In 2023, Diaz toured with Harry Styles and began working on her next album, Weird Faith (2024), which dealt with placing trust in herself, the growth of her career, and her relationships with her new manager, new label, and new romantic partner. [6]

During her tour with Styles, Diaz separated from her partner and began to suffer from constant hip pain. She then began working on Fatal Optimist in 2023 during a songwriting retrat on Nantucket. [5] [7] She recorded at a studio in New Jersey and produced the album with Gabe Wax at Infinite Family Studio in Southern California. [8]

Release and promotion

Diaz announced Fatal Optimist and released its lead single "Feel Something" on July 21, 2025. [1] She also released "Ambivalence", [2] "Heavy Metal", [3] and "Why'd You Have to Bring Me Flowers" [4] as singles. The album was released on October 10, 2025. [9] Diaz supported the album with a tour. [8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Spill MagazineStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Uncut 9/10 [12]

Maura Johnston awarded the album 3.5 out of 5 stars for Rolling Stone and praised Diaz's vocals, lyrics, and the album's arrangement. [10] Sophie Montague also rated the album 3.5 out of 5 stars in Spill Magazine, writing that the album had a "charming simplicity" and showed Diaz's "strength in sadness". [11] For Uncut , Nigel Williamson rated the album 9 out of 10. Williamson wrote that Diaz's lyrics "reveal[ed] fresh and unexpected insights" about breakups and called the album "raw but gorgeously melodic". [12]

Track listing

Fatal Optimist track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hope Less"
  • Madi Diaz
  • Savana Santos
  • Konrad Snyder
3:25
2."Ambivalence"
  • Diaz
  • Morgan Nagler
4:32
3."Feel Something"
3:20
4."Good Liar"
3:44
5."Lone Wolf"
  • Diaz
  • Stephen Wilson Jr.
3:10
6."Heavy Metal"
3:55
7."If Time Does What It's Supposed To"
  • Diaz
  • Aaron Ratiere
3:09
8."Flirting"
  • Diaz
  • Santos
3:18
9."Why'd You Have to Bring Me Flowers"Diaz4:04
10."Time Difference"
  • Diaz
  • Jamie Floyd
3:30
11."Fatal Optimist"
  • Diaz
  • Santos
  • Snyder
3:05
Total length:39:17

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 Kelly, Tyler Damara. "Madi Diaz Details Sixth Album, Fatal Optimist". The Line of Best Fit . Archived from the original on September 12, 2025. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Pickard, Joshua (August 18, 2025). "Madi Diaz Rips Apart Feelings of Indecision While Yearning for More on 'Ambivalence'". Beats Per Minute . Archived from the original on October 12, 2025. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Breihan, Tom (September 15, 2025). "Madi Diaz – 'Heavy Metal'". Stereogum . Archived from the original on October 12, 2025. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Deville, Chris (October 6, 2025). "Madi Diaz – 'Why'd You Have to Bring Me Flowers'". Stereogum . Archived from the original on October 12, 2025. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Moss, Marissa B. (October 6, 2025). "Madi Diaz: A Little Bit Country, a Little Bit Pop, and Beloved by Both". New York Times . Archived from the original on October 7, 2025. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  6. ↑ Hughes, Mia (February 6, 2024). "Madi Diaz on Weird Faith, Love on Tour, and Her Late-Breaking Success". Stereogum . Archived from the original on February 9, 2024. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  7. ↑ Brown, Eric Renner (October 10, 2025). "Madi Diaz on Her Wrenching New Album & Collaborating with Stars from Harry Styles to Maren Morris". Billboard . Archived from the original on October 13, 2025. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Mier, Tomás (July 21, 2025). "Madi Diaz Will End Trio of Heartache Albums With Fatal Optimist" . Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on July 21, 2025. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  9. 1 2 Donelson, Marcy (n.d.). "Fatal Optimist Review". AllMusic . Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  10. 1 2 Johnston, Maura (October 10, 2025). "Madi Diaz Finds Truth in the Quiet Moments" . Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on October 10, 2025. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  11. 1 2 Montague, Sophie (October 10, 2025). "Spill Album Review: Madi Diaz – Fatal Optimist". Spill Magazine. Archived from the original on October 11, 2025. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  12. 1 2 Williamson, Nigel (November 2025). "Madi Diaz: Fatal Optimist". Uncut . No. Take 344. p. 30. ISSN   1368-0722.
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