Listened to the new ABBA album, and — I'd say it's… …all in all, absolutely an interesting experience?
Probably going to have to listen to it quite a bit more, because wow, there's a *lot* going on in it. Absolutely perfect if you're into upbeat and/or major key stuff dealing with complicated feelings or just outright grim subject matter, damn.
…spoliers? Re.: Voyage (ABBA, 2021).
Initially, I was thinking, like— "wow, this is a huge shift for them", but I think the main change, aside from forty years of aging and working on music, is just that they're being a lot more direct about themes they (at least ever since they became an actual band) tended to be way more indirect about. Intense emotions and discussing fairly non-spicy politics-adjacent things in a ~show don't tell~ framing has been a thing with them for forever, I think, so??
…spoliers? Re.: Voyage (ABBA, 2021).
Also, it was a bit of a relief when, on the last song, they were like "yeah no we're too distant from most people's struggles to make bold assertions about what Freedom™ means" as opposed to, like, actively milkshake ducking on the last song of their last album ever. fhdkjasdfaksjfd
(But still, of course, kinda a pessimistic liberal cop-out going on there.
So, par for the course? They've raised awareness in some songs, but never really urged action, hm.)