Zenith (Molly Nilsson album)
{{Infobox album
| name = Zenith
| type = studio
| artist = Molly Nilsson
| cover = Molly Nilsson Zenith artwork.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|2015|11|6|df=y}}
| recorded = 2014–2015
| venue =
| studio = Lighthouse Studios, Berlin
| genre = Synth-pop
| length = 47:05
| label =
- Dark Skies Association
- Night School
| producer = Molly Nilsson
| prev_title = Sólo Paraíso
| prev_year = 2014
| next_title = Imaginations
| next_year = 2017
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Zenith
| type = studio
| single1 = Lovers Are Losers
| single1date = 30 July 2015
| single2 = 1995
| single2date = 18 August 2015
| single3 = Mountain Time
| single3date = 4 September 2015
| single4 = Happiness
| single4date = 15 October 2015
| single5 = My Body
| single5date = 6 November 2015
}}
}}
Zenith is the sixth studio album by Swedish singer-songwriter Molly Nilsson, released on 6 November 2015.
Background
Nilsson considered several titles for the album before eventually settling on Zenith. Regarding the title, she stated: "I like [the album] as a peak, but not in the sense that whatever comes before or after is not a peak – I wanted it to be like an eternal peak."{{Cite web |url=https://www.theransomnote.com/music/interviews/false-starts-and-eternal-sunsets-molly-nilsson-talks/ |title=False Starts And Eternal Sunsets: Molly Nilsson Talks |work=The Ransom Note |date=19 August 2021 |access-date=1 October 2023}}
Production
Nilsson had finished one iteration of the album in January 2015, but after a two-month holiday, she realized that she "had to make a new album". She then finished the second and final version of the album in June 2015, explaining that she "needed that sunlight in the album". Nilsson estimates that the final version is "probably 75% new".
Regarding the equipment used for the album's production, Nilsson stated: "The keyboard I made Zenith with, I found on eBay, costs 25 euros and is really shitty. [...] It took me a while until I got to know it and then I figured out how to make the best of it."{{Cite web |url=https://pw-magazine.com/2016/the-universal-intimacy-of-molly-nilsson |title=The Embracing Intimacy of Molly Nilsson |work=PW Magazine |date=22 May 2016 |access-date=1 October 2023}}
Release
Zenith was released on vinyl, CD, and as a digital download on 6 November 2015. It was originally scheduled to be released on 25 September 2015, but it was delayed.
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
|rev1=AllMusic
|rev1score={{rating|4|5}}{{cite web |last=Sendra |first=Tim |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/zenith-mw0002870696 |title=Zenith Review by Tim Sendra |work=AllMusic |access-date=1 October 2023}}
|rev2=Éclat
|rev2score={{rating|3.5|5}}{{Cite web |last=Dorniak |first=Marlena Julia |title=Molly Nilsson - Zenith - Rezension |url=http://www.eclat-mag.de/rezensionen/molly-nilsson/zenith.html |date=25 September 2015 |language=de |access-date=1 October 2023 |website=Éclat}}
|rev3=Loud and Quiet
|rev3score=6/10{{cite web |last=Goggins|first=Joe|url=http://www.loudandquiet.com/2015/12/molly-nilsson-zenith-album-review/ |title=Molly Nilsson, 'Zenith' - Album Review |work=Loud and Quiet |date=November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714104730/http://www.loudandquiet.com/2015/12/molly-nilsson-zenith-album-review/ |access-date=1 October 2023|archive-date=2016-07-14 }}
|rev4=Mondo Sonoro
|rev5=Norman Records
|rev6=TN2 Magazine
|rev6score={{rating|4|5}}{{Cite web |last=Tobin |first=Finnán |title=Zenith, Molly Nilsson - Review |url=https://www.tn2magazine.ie/zenith-molly-nilsson-review/ |date=14 September 2015 |access-date=1 October 2023 |website=TN2 Magazine}}
}}
Zenith received positive reviews. Tim Sendra, writing for AllMusic, called Zenith a "landmark album" and "not too far from [genius]", while noting its wider appeal when compared with previous albums.{{Cite web |last=Sendra|first=Tim|title=Molly Nilsson Biography by Tim Sendra |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/molly-nilsson-mn0002732958/biography |access-date=1 October 2023 |website=AllMusic}} Finnán Tobin, in his review for TN2 Magazine, stated that the album "feels so heartfelt that one cannot help but be enamoured" and pointed out the song "Bunny Club" as the "definite album highlight". He further noted the "juxtaposition" of the "somewhat upbeat" music and Nilsson's "world-weary lyricism".
Joe Goggins of Loud and Quiet called Zenith "a pleasingly cohesive piece of work", but criticized that it "feels a little bit less adventurous than what we’ve grown accustomed to from Nilsson". Jonas Kiss, writing for Austrian magazine Skug, praised the song "1995", but criticized the album's production for being "too smooth" in comparison with Nilsson's prior works.{{Cite web |last=Kiss|first=Jonas|title=»Zenith« - Molly Nilsson |url=https://skug.at/zenith-molly-nilsson/ |date=5 November 2015 |access-date=1 October 2023 |website=Skug Musikkultur |language=de}}
Track listing
{{track listing
| headline = Zenith track listing
| all_writing = Molly Nilsson.
| title1= The Only Planet
| length1= 4:32
| title2= 1995
| length2= 4:41
| title3= H.O.P.E.
| length3= 3:35
| title4= Mountain Time
| length4= 4:30
| title5= Bunny Club
| length5= 3:07
| title6= Intermezzo: Palimpsest Galore
| length6= 3:46
| title7= Happiness
| length7= 4:06
| title8= Lovers Are Losers
| length8= 3:29
| title9= Clearblue
| length9= 3:38
| title10= My Body
| length10= 4:13
| title11= Titanic
| length11= 1:37
| title12= Bus 194 (All There Is)
| length12= 1:45
| title13= Tomorrow
| length13= 4:04
| total_length = 47:05
}}