ABBA kind of stumbled their way into
Voyage, their first album in 40 years. In 2016, the group began working on ABBAtars, a virtual concert based on the band's blockbuster 1979 tour and featuring 3D renditions of
Benny Andersson,
Björn Ulvaeus,
Agnetha Fältskog, and
Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
Andersson and
Ulvaeus decided they should write a couple of new songs for ABBAtars, thinking that if it was going to replicate the experience of an
ABBA tour, the group would surely be peddling new material. The two new songs soon turned into three, then into the ten songs that comprise
Voyage. Throughout the process,
Andersson and
Ulvaeus operated under the notion that if a song didn't live up to their standards, they were under no pressure to release it; they already had two songs they liked in the can for ABBAtars.
Fältskog and
Lyngstad were happy to participate so long as they didn't have to promote the resulting album, a compromise
Benny and
Björn happily accepted. And that's how
ABBA wound up with
Voyage, an album that uncannily sounds and feels like a classic
ABBA album, one that could've been delivered not long after
The Visitors.
Andersson and
Ulvaeus wisely decided to not follow any stylistic trend or adopt any modern production technique; while there may be some digital gloss here, voices aren't auto-tuned and rhythms aren't sequenced.
Voyage is recognizably
ABBA music, a quality that's simultaneously thrilling, disorienting, and a bit corny.
Andersson and
Ulvaeus managed to revive the big, dramatic melodies that defined a good portion of their catalog -- the way the opening ballad "I Still Have Faith in You" soars can cause goosebumps of recognition -- and they do convincing nods at their lighter, danceable moments on the singles "Don't Shut Me Down" and "Just a Notion," yet they also offer reminders of their Eurovision origins with the overheated showstopper "I Can Be That Woman" and vaguely ominous, vaguely disco "Keep an Eye on Dan." Moments like these are quite remarkable, as it feels like
ABBA have continued without missing a step, but the retro vibes are also apparent on such stilted pieces of cheese as the stately "Bumblebee" and "Little Things," a sticky trifle made stickier by the presence of an overbearing children's choir. Such missteps prevent
Voyage from being a triumph, yet they are true to the rest of
ABBA's catalog, so, in a sense, they're welcome. If
ABBA didn't have cheeseball moments, they wouldn't be
ABBA, so it's reassuring that the group brings the lows along with the highs on this unexpected and delightful album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine