Raised on the DIY folk punk activism influences of Ani Difranco and Fugazi, Markus got his musical start in the emocore band ‘Stricken for Catherine,’ releasing 2 albums in the mid 90s. As the grunge era wound down, Markus turned to folk music forming ‘In Search of a Redheaded Fiddler’ which broke out at the Northern Rocky Mountain Folk Festival opening for Sam Bush. Markus’ newest project, ‘The last optimist [?]’ is an anomaly, pairing folk with emocore, social activism with transcendentalism, trauma with solace, dissonance with poetry. Following on the heels of 2 stripped down albums (‘make it alright with grace,’ and ‘this moment is gone’) the last optimist’s new LP ‘seed water sun’ is full and rich with the intricate instrumental tapestry of producer Doug Kwartler and the transcendent vocals of Danielle Pinals.
Artist Name: the last optimist
Location: Boston MA
Release Title: seed water sun (LP)
Release Date: July 13, 2023
Label: Last Optimist Records (independent)
Musician Names/Instruments: Markus Belanger (Guitar, Vocals, Drums, Bass). Special thanks to Danielle Pinals for singing with me on ‘bloom now sweet flower’ and ‘not a sound.’ Special thanks to Doug Kwartler for instrumentation (upright bass, piano, electric guitar, drums, accordion, synths, glockenspiel, lap steel, banjo, percussion, and backup vocals).
Producer Name(s): Doug Kwartler, Hollow Body Studios, Chelmsford MA (https://www.hollowbodystudios.com/)
Similar/RIYL: Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Decemberists, Phoebe Bridgers, Finnegan Tui, Julian Baker, Ani DiFranco, (aspirational list written with extreme humility)
Genre(s): Singer/Songwriter, Indie, Folk, Emo
