History (Molly Nilsson album)
{{Infobox album
| name = History
| type = studio
| artist = Molly Nilsson
| cover = Molly Nilsson History artwork.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|2011|12|14|df=y}}
| recorded = 2010–2011
| venue =
| studio = Lighthouse Studios, Berlin
| genre = Synth-pop
| length = 41:55
| label =
- Dark Skies Association
| producer = Molly Nilsson
| prev_title = Follow the Light
| prev_year = 2010
| next_title = The Travels
| next_year = 2013
| misc = {{Singles
| name = History
| type = studio
| single1 = Skybound
| single1date = 21 October 2011
| single2 = Hotel Home
| single2date = 2 December 2011
| single3 = Intermezzo: The Party
| single3date = 30 April 2012
| single4 = In Real Life
| single4date = 3 September 2012
| single5 = I Hope You Die
| single5date = 19 September 2012
}}
}}
History is the fourth studio album by Swedish singer-songwriter Molly Nilsson, released on 14 December 2011. It was Nilsson's final album to be entirely self-released, as she started collaborating with Night School Records afterwards. History has been cited as Nilsson's "breakout" album, including by herself.{{Cite web |title=Hooligan of the Heart Scarf |url=https://darkskiesassociation.org/news-updates/page/2/?v=3a52f3c22ed6 |date= 30 January 2022 |access-date=3 October 2023 |website=Dark Skies Association}}
Background
Regarding the album's concept and title, Nilsson explained:{{blockquote|Each song tells a story, and together they form a narrative. [No one's] life weighs more than another, yet not everyone ends up in the history books. I took this opportunity to feel what it's like to hold the pen that writes history.{{Cite web |last=Ritchie |first=Kevin |title=Molly Nilsson - Press-shy Swedish songwriter opens up |url=https://nowtoronto.com/music/molly-nilsson/ |date= 4 October 2012 |access-date=3 October 2023 |website=Now|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001215034/https://nowtoronto.com/music/molly-nilsson/ |archive-date=2017-10-01 }}}}
Release
History was originally self-released through Nilsson's own label Dark Skies Association. The CD version was released on 14 December 2011 and the vinyl version followed in April 2012.{{Cite web |title=Molly Nilsson - History (2011, CDr) |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/3283008-Molly-Nilsson-History |access-date=3 October 2023 |website=Discogs}}{{Cite web |title=Molly Nilsson - History (2012, Vinyl) |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/3565800-Molly-Nilsson-History |access-date=3 October 2023 |website=Discogs}} In association with Night School Records, History was then released as a digital download on 31 January 2019,{{Cite web |title=Molly Nilsson - History (2019, File) |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/13893437-Molly-Nilsson-History |access-date=3 October 2023 |website=Discogs}} while reissues of the CD and vinyl versions followed on 29 March 2019.{{Cite web |title=Molly Nilsson - History (2019, CD) |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/13423475-Molly-Nilsson-History |access-date=3 October 2023 |website=Discogs}} It was again reissued on vinyl on 29 September 2023.{{Cite web |title=History: LP - Dark Skies Association |url=https://darkskiesassociation.org/product/history/?v=3a52f3c22ed6 |access-date=3 October 2023 |website=Dark Skies Association}}
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
|rev1=AllMusic
|rev2=Éclat
|rev3=Pitchfork
|rev3score=7/10{{Cite web |last=Friedlander |first=Emilie |title=Molly Nilsson: History Album Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16510-molly-nilsson-history/ |date= 17 April 2012 |access-date=2 October 2023 |website=Pitchfork}}
}}
History received positive reviews. Emilie Friedlander of Pitchfork, in a positive review, said that the album is "carried by the commanding, almost Nico-like ominousness of [Nilsson's] voice". Tim Sendra, writing for AllMusic, praised Nilsson's "wonderfully idiosyncratic music" and noted its emotional impact.{{Cite web |last=Sendra|first=Tim|title=History Review by Tim Sendra |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/history-mw0002357978 |access-date=2 October 2023 |website=AllMusic}} In a positive review for German Éclat magazine, Marlena Julia Dorniak described Nilsson's music as "morbid", "melancholic", and "magical".
"I Hope You Die" was positively highlighted as a standout song by several writers. Friedlander noted that it demonstrates the "over-the-topness of Nilsson's aesthetic most forcefully". Sendra praised it for its "heartbreakingly honest" lyrics, while Dorniak commended its combination of a "danceable beat" with "tragically romantic" lyrics. The song also quickly became a "fan favorite".{{Cite web |last=Blair |first=Ed |title=Where to Start Exploring the Dazzling World of Molly Nilsson|url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/molly-nilsson-discography-guide |date= 24 January 2022 |access-date=3 October 2023 |website=Bandcamp}}
Track listing
{{track listing
| headline = History track listing
| all_writing = Molly Nilsson.
| title1= In Real Life
| length1= 4:06
| title2= You Always Hurt the One You Love
| length2= 3:01
| title3= I Hope You Die
| length3= 4:28
| title4= The Bottles of Tomorrow
| length4= 2:03
| title5= Hiroshima Street
| length5= 3:51
| title6= Intermezzo: The Party
| length6= 2:55
| title7= Hotel Home
| length7= 4:49
| title8= City of Atlantis
| length8= 3:41
| title9= QWERTY (Censored Version)
| length9= 4:35
| title10= The Clocks
| length10= 3:31
| title11= Skybound
| length11= 4:38
| total_length = 41:55
}}