The Optimist is the eleventh and final studio album by rock band Anathema. The album was released on 9 June 2017, through Kscope, 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). 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 Optimist won "Album of the Year" at the 2017 Progressive Music Awards. It is the final album featuring bassist Jamie Cavanagh before he left the band a second time in 2018. It was the band's second UK Top 40 success, peaking at #34.