Extreme (Molly Nilsson album)
{{Infobox album
| name = Extreme
| type = studio
| artist = Molly Nilsson
| cover = Molly Nilsson Extreme artwork.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|2022|1|15|df=y}}
| recorded = 2019–2020
| venue =
| studio = Lighthouse Studios, Berlin
| genre = Synth-pop
| length = 41:31
| label =
- Dark Skies Association
- Night School
| producer = Molly Nilsson
| prev_title = 2020
| prev_year = 2018
| next_title =
| next_year =
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Extreme
| type = studio
| single1 = Absolute Power
| single1date = 12 October 2021
| single2 = Pompeii
| single2date = 22 November 2021
| single3 = Sweet Smell of Success
| single3date = 13 January 2022
| single4 = Obnoxiously Talented
| single4date = 25 April 2022
}}
}}
Extreme is the ninth studio album by Swedish singer-songwriter Molly Nilsson, released on 15 January 2022.
Background
Regarding the album's title, Nilsson gave the following explanation:
{{blockquote|I was thinking about the title Extreme right after I'd made Twenty Twenty. At the time, I just thought that it was kind of a fun title—a good working title to [remind myself to] be playful and not hold myself back. It turned into thinking of 'extremes' in this black-and-white, polarized society, and the struggles between all the different sides and all these different ways of thinking.{{cite web |last=Blair |first=Ed |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/molly-nilsson-discography-guide |title=Where to Start Exploring the Dazzling World of Molly Nilsson |work=Bandcamp |date=24 January 2022 |access-date=29 September 2023}}}}
Production
After the release of her previous album 2020, Nilsson went through a period of "creative depression". Extreme was then "largely written" in 2019 and "mainly recorded" in 2020.{{cite web |last=Helfand |first=Raphael |date=18 January 2022 |title=Molly Nilsson fights the power on Extreme |url=https://www.thefader.com/2022/01/18/molly-nillson-fights-the-power-on-extreme |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529082613/https://www.thefader.com/2022/01/18/molly-nillson-fights-the-power-on-extreme |archive-date=29 May 2022 |access-date=29 September 2023 |work=The Fader}}
Themes
Power has been noted as the central topic on Extreme.{{Cite web |title=Pop-Hymnen über falsch verteilte Macht: "Extreme" von Molly Nilsson |url=https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/pop-hymnen-ueber-falsch-verteilte-macht-extreme-von-molly-nilsson-dlf-3d2e1a26-100.html |last=Möller |first=Christoph |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525060827/https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/pop-hymnen-ueber-falsch-verteilte-macht-extreme-von-molly-nilsson-dlf-3d2e1a26-100.html |date=15 January 2022|archive-date=25 May 2022 |access-date=29 September 2023 |website=Deutschlandfunk |language=de}} In the album's promotional material, label Night School Records wrote: "It's a record about power. About how to fight it, how to take it and how to share it."{{Cite web |title=Molly Nilsson: Extreme {{!}} Night School Records |url=https://nightschoolrecords.com/product/molly-nilsson-extreme/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230710025109/https://nightschoolrecords.com/product/molly-nilsson-extreme/ |archive-date=10 July 2023 |access-date=29 September 2023 |language=en}}
Promotion
"Absolute Power" was released as the album's first single on 12 October 2021, along with a music video.{{Cite web |title=Molly Nilsson reveals new album Extreme, shares "Absolute Power" |last=Darville |first=Jordan |url=https://www.thefader.com/2021/10/12/molly-nilsson-reveals-new-album-extreme-shares-absolute-power |date=12 October 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529031638/https://www.thefader.com/2021/10/12/molly-nilsson-reveals-new-album-extreme-shares-absolute-power |archive-date=29 May 2022 |access-date=29 September 2023 |website=The Fader |language=en}} "Pompeii" was released as the album's second music video on 22 November 2021.{{Cite web |title=Molly Nilsson shares new song/video "Pompeii" |last=Darville |first=Jordan |date=22 November 2021|url=https://www.thefader.com/2021/11/22/molly-nilsson-pompeii |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201145736/https://www.thefader.com/2021/11/22/molly-nilsson-pompeii |archive-date=1 December 2021 |access-date=29 September 2023 |website=The Fader |language=en}}
Release
The album was released on vinyl, CD, and as a digital download.{{Cite web |title=Extreme, by Molly Nilsson |url=https://mollynilsson.bandcamp.com/album/extreme |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716054811/https://mollynilsson.bandcamp.com/album/extreme |archive-date=16 July 2023 |access-date=29 September 2023 |website=Molly Nilsson |language=en}}
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
|rev1=AllMusic
|rev2=Crack
|rev2score=7/10{{Cite web |last=O'Neill |first=Lauren |title=Molly Nilsson: 'Extreme' review |url=https://crackmagazine.net/article/album-reviews/molly-nilsson-extreme/ |access-date=29 September 2023 |date=27 January 2022 |website=Crack}}
|rev3=Loud and Quiet
|rev4=Mindies
|rev5=Musikexpress
|rev6=Norman Records
|rev7=Spectrum Culture
}}
Extreme received critical acclaim.{{Cite web |title=ByteFM - Molly Nilsson |url=https://www.byte.fm/artists/molly-nilsson/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929191307/https://www.byte.fm/artists/molly-nilsson/ |archive-date=September 29, 2023 |access-date=29 September 2023 |website=ByteFM |language=de}} In a positive review, Tim Sendra of AllMusic called Extreme "both Nilsson's most interesting album and a striking reboot", citing her experimentation with "new moods" and "new genres".{{cite web |last=Sendra |work=AllMusic |first=Tim |title=Extreme Review by Tim Sendra|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/extreme-mw0003636582 |access-date=29 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230731004519/https://www.allmusic.com/album/extreme-mw0003636582 |url-status=live |language=en |archive-date=31 July 2023}} Jana-Maria Mayer of German Musikexpress characterized the album as a "romantic indictment of the Anthropocene" and praised Nilsson's songwriting.{{cite web |last=Mayer |first=Jana-Maria |date=28 January 2022 |language=de |title=Review: Molly Nilsson - Extreme |url=https://www.musikexpress.de/reviews/molly-nilsson-extreme/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230317035002/https://www.musikexpress.de/reviews/molly-nilsson-extreme/ |archive-date=17 March 2023 |access-date=29 September 2023 |work=Musikexpress}}
Sophia McDonald of Loud and Quiet, in a mixed-to-positive review, considered Extreme "an LP that is generally surprising in its trajectory" and noted its "nostalgic fun", but criticized it for a lack of "closeness" and "intimacy" to Nilsson in comparison with earlier works.{{Cite web |last=McDonald |first=Sophia |date=10 January 2022 |title=Molly Nilsson - Extreme - Album Review |url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/reviews/molly-nilsson-extreme/ |access-date=29 September 2023 |website=Loud and Quiet |language=en-US}}
The closing track "Pompeii" was highlighted by Raphael Helfand of The Fader as a "happy-sad classic" that serves as a "rallying cry for resilience in the face of impossible odds". The track was also praised by German Musikexpress.
Track listing
{{track listing
| headline = Extreme track listing
| all_writing = Molly Nilsson.
| title1= Absolute Power
| length1= 3:49
| title2= Earth Girls
| length2= 4:11
| title3= Fearless Like a Child
| length3= 4:02
| title4= Kids Today
| length4= 4:04
| title5= Intermezzo: The Wheel of Fortune
| length5= 3:36
| title6= Sweet Smell of Success
| length6= 4:20
| title7= Obnoxiously Talented
| length7= 3:38
| title8= Avoid Heaven
| length8= 3:37
| title9= Take Me to Your Leader
| length9= 3:01
| title10= They Will Pay
| length10= 2:42
| title11= Pompeii
| length11= 4:31
| total_length = 41:31
}}