"The Nashville-based singer and songwriter had traveled to Los Angeles to record the follow-up to her album "Weird Faith," which came out in early 2024 and would go on to earn two Grammy nominations, including one for a beautifully bummed-out duet with her friend Kacey Musgraves. But after three or four days of work in the studio, Diaz became sick just as the Dodgers were battling the Mets in last October's National League Championship Series."
""I could literally see the stadium lights - there were drones everywhere and people honking and lighting things on fire," she recalls. "I was just like, Why, L.A. - why?" Her suffering in a city she once called home was worth it: "Fatal Optimist," the LP Diaz eventually completed in time to release this month, is one of 2025's most gripping - a bravely stripped-down set of songs about heartbreak and renewal arranged for little more than Diaz's confiding voice and her folky acoustic guitar."
Madi Diaz fell ill with COVID-19 while recording in Los Angeles but completed Fatal Optimist in time for its 2025 release. The album is arranged mainly for Diaz's confiding voice and folky acoustic guitar, presenting a bravely stripped-down sound. Songs such as "Hope Less," "Good Liar," "Flirting" and "Heavy Metal" examine accommodating neglect, self-deception, regret for harm done and the hardening that prepares one for future breakups. The record follows 2024's Weird Faith, which earned two Grammy nominations including a duet with Kacey Musgraves. Diaz frames the work as an exercise in staying fully present during each song.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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