An Island band who made their Isle of Wight Festival Main Stage debut in 2023 have released their 'heaviest ever' single today (Friday).
For 'The Optimists' — a five-piece indie-rock band formed in 2018 — last year proved to be a breakout one with a Wight Noize competition win securing their festival slot, while they continued to support increasingly established bands.
The popular fivesome chatted to Isle of Wight Radio about catchy new single 'Not a Big Deal'.
Tell us a bit about the new single
Matt (lead singer) had this hook in his head with the phrase 'not a big deal' after trying to keep a challenging day in perspective.
It's a message which we hope people can relate to, one where it can be difficult to keep perspective while things are going wrong.
We'd just released our Small Talk EP when we were writing this single, and our track 'Small Talk' was the heaviest track we'd recorded, so we wanted to follow up with another in a similar vein.
We wanted to bounce off that and release something even heavier, so we poured our hearts into this one.
Could this track be the first step towards a debut LP?
Possibly, we're definitely going to write more songs of this genre and we're bouncing around new ideas.
Have you played it live yet?
Yeah, we played it live at the Isle of Wight Festival last month (they played on the Platform One stage) and people were singing along with the chorus!
Because the chorus is so simple people can get involved even if they're hearing it for the first time.
Is there a reason why you chose today to release the track?
We've had the song in the works for a while and we wanted to get the music video done.
Most of our fanbase is on the Island and we wanted to promote the track post-Isle of Wight Festival.
We have a headline gig coming up at Strings in Newport (on August 9) as well, so we felt like this was good momentum for that.
It's your first music video, where was it filmed?
We filmed part of it at a family home and another was an office space a company very kindly let us use for free!
Was your Isle of Wight Festival Main Stage slot a springboard for the band?
Not immediately in terms of gigs, but this summer we'll be performing at Victorious Festival in Southsea, so I think it's helped raise our profile for that.
We've gigged less this year but it's been quality over quantity.
When and on what stage is your slot at Victorious?
We're playing on Friday (August 23) at 3.30pm on the Introducing stage.
We've only ever played Isle of Wight Festival and Rhythmtree, so this is going to be really exciting.
What are your other plans for the summer?
We've got loads of dates in the works.
There could be some gigs further north — we've only really gone as far as Kidderminster so far — but want to get beyond there soon.
If people want to get a copy of the single how can they go about that?
We haven't done a physical copy of the track but if we release another EP at some point we might tie it into that.
If people do want some physical Optimists merch, we're producing some now.
You can find out more about the Optimists by following this link.
Police Investigation Into East Cowes Vehicle Damage
Wessex Cancer Support Swim For Hope Raises More Than £26,000
Overwhelming Negative Feedback For Isle Of Wight Health And Social Services
Exx On The Breach - Conservation Body Warns Of 'Harmful' CO2 Pipeline
Scores Of Island Children Take Part In Beach Rookie Lifeguards Programme
Plastic Bench Stolen From Downside Recreation Ground
Break-In At Waterside Pool Costs Charity Thousands Of Pounds In Damages
Yellow Weather Warning For Thunder Issued By Met Office
Majority Of Health And Social Care Feedback 'Negative' According To Watchdog
80 Young People Given A Chance To Be Rookie Lifeguards
Conservation Body's Warnings Over CO2 Pipeline Plans
Girl On The Train Arriving At Apollo Theatre As Next Production Prepares For Curtain Up
Older Person's Good Living Show Praised After Big Turnout At Sandown
Police Seeking Victims Of Vehicle Damage Following East Cowes Incident
Estate Agents Add £1000 To Freshwater Skate Park Total
Try Out A Reading Group This National Reading Group Day
Businesses Invited To New Inclusive Island Event To Help Create Sustainable Workforce
Island Line Closure: Less Than A Week Until Major Works Bring Halt To Service
Island Nature Survey To Close This Weekend - Conservation Plan In Progress
West Wight Developments To Be Discussed At Parish Council Meeting
