It’s been four decades since ABBA last released music. 40 long years, but 40 years during which fans suspected that ABBA had finished the book of their discography and shut its back cover. Now, in times as weird as only 2021 can be, the group is back with their new album Voyage, and it offers some mixed feelings for its listeners.
I grew up in the 2000s with parents who had grown up with ABBA when the band was fresh and active. Like Queen and Elton John, ABBA holds a very special spot in my heart; I own most of their albums and no week is complete without at least one post-lecture cooking session with “Ring Ring” on in the background. So, you can imagine my excitement and later disappointment with Voyage.
The album starts off promising with “I Still Have Faith In You,” a song that maintains a characteristic ABBA sound mixed with a more modern electronic backtrack. It almost reminds me of “Chiquitita” without the piano and acoustic guitar. So, although I would have preferred a song like this to go toward the end of the album, as a triumphant, underdog finale, I respect its position on the album.
The third song on the album is what really disappoints me. “Little Things” is a Christmas song, and although capitalism suggests that the Christmas season lies just beyond Halloween, I genuinely do not see how it belongs on the album. “Oh what joy Santa brings, thanks old friend for packing Christmas stockings full of nice little things” sets a different tone, one you might expect from a full-length ABBA holiday album. On this non-Christmas disk, however, it is completely out of place.
Later, in a startling shift at the 40-second mark of “Don’t Shut Me Down,” ABBA’s signature upbeat sound enters the album. If you haven’t already started moving to the beat, the first chorus sends you into a nice little head-bop. This song seems to demonstrate ABBA’s awareness about the new sound they’ve taken up for Voyage. The group sings:
And now you see another me, I’ve been reloaded, yeah
I’m fired up, don’t shut me down …
I’m not the one you knew, I’m now, and then combined
And I’m asking you to have an open mind (and I won’t be the same).
It seems that they are actively asking their fan base to accept this new sound for its merits and try to put their expectations aside. But, since this plea comes in the middle of the album, I fear it doesn’t achieve its full potential.
The rest of the album feels just okay. The songs sound like those you would hear on a traditional album, but not ones that would reside on a Greatest Hits one. Even the final song, “Ode To Freedom,” is odd and underwhelming. There are very few lines in the song, and it is mainly an instrumental track featuring slightly electronic string instruments.
Therefore, I’m very sad to say it, but Voyage isn’t great.
