Mamma mia, here we go again

Formed in Stockholm in 1972, ABBA is considered by many to be one of the greatest musical groups of all time. Their hit songs are such earworms, we still sing them today and they are still widely used in popular media. A testament to this, in 1998, their discography was adapted into a successful musical, Mamma Mia!, which was further adapted for the silver screen in 2008 (and its sequel in 2018). The song Dancing Queen also made its way into the Recording Academy’s Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015. It seems that their music is still being realised and they are not dying down anytime soon.

When ABBA announced their separation back in 1982, fans were devastated. Their hit songs are one-of-a-kind and undoubtedly made a mark all over the world. But as the song goes, the group told the world to take a chance on them and announced their reunion back in 2016. They promised their fans an album—Voyage—full of newly recorded songs and a concert tour featuring digital avatars of their 1979 selves. Dubbed “ABBAtars”, the virtual avatars of the group members are designed in partnership with Star Wars creator George Lucas’ special effects company. ABBAtars will be holding high-tech concerts in London from May to October 2022. 

Voyage, now finally released just a few days ago, can be said as one of the biggest reunions in music. Still, the comeback splits the opinions of critics. The Rolling Stone describes the 10-track album as “vintage ABBA”, being on par with the group’s run back in the 1970s. However, the Guardian outright describes Voyage as a “disappointment”, “bafflingly retrograde”, exclaiming that the sounds are simply stuck in the past.

It seems that many are on the fence with ABBA using styles and melodies that we are familiar with, to which both sides are correct. It is understandable why fans would be left unsatisfied—promised with a voyage into their growth as musicians but left unfulfilled. While the instrumentals and vocals are as great as they were in their last album, many tracks cannot fill such big shoes left by their past hits.

Still, it can be argued that artists do not have to change their musical style all the time, even with a 40-year time gap. ABBA knows their appeal and what made them great to listen to during their peak. The lyrics and sounds of their new album have not dropped in quality in any way.

Music is art, and art is subjective. You can give Voyage a listen right now on all major music platforms and decide for yourself.