After nearly 40 years without making any music, ABBA is officially back with a new album. As someone who was in the top .01% of ABBA listeners on spotify last year, I could not have been more thrilled when the album, entitled Voyage, was announced. But would it live up to my (albeit very high) expectations for ABBA music?
The overall sound of the new album is not too far off from ABBA’s music from 40 years prior. I am really grateful that ABBA stuck with their distinctly retro sound and did not try to change themselves in order to fit in with what is popular in the 2020s. Overall, I think they really managed to maintain their consistency, despite the time gap between Voyage and their older music. I’m really glad that even after all these years, ABBA still sounds like ABBA.
However, Voyage is a bit more melancholy in nature than most of the music that ABBA is known for. Though, given all that has transpired between the band members over the years, I can’t say I’m surprised. The band went from consisting of two married couples to consisting of two divorced couples, so naturally the new music is going to reflect this.
Now for the moment of truth, which songs from Voyage made it to my ever-so-selective spotify playlist where I carefully curate my all-time favorite ABBA songs?
The first song to make the cut was Don’t Shut Me Down. This was by far my favorite song on the album, and I would be lying if I said that I have not been listening to it on loop for the past couple days. The next one to make the playlist was Just a Notion. Unlike the rest of the songs on the album, Just a Notion was written back in the 70’s, as opposed to the 2020s. This song is super happy, upbeat, and just an all-together good time, earning it a spot on the playlist.
Aside from those two songs, however, the rest of the album did not have that wow factor I typically find in my favorite ABBA music. Although I enjoyed listening through the album when it came out, I probably won’t find myself going out of my way to listen to the rest of the songs again.
In conclusion, is Voyage my favorite ABBA album? No. Am I still glad they made it? Of course. Hearing that ABBA was coming back together to make new music was a welcome surprise, and I’m so glad that I can now say that I’ve lived in an “ABBA era.”