WINTER 2021-2022
Little Things • 6/10
Bumblebee • 8/10
As ABBA’s only Christmas song, “Little Things” falls
This song bears an innocent way about it, but that
into quite a few of the lyrical clichés that plague many
innocence masks its message — an urge to consider
Christmas pop songs. They do, however, nail the unique
how climate change could spell the demise of bum-
music box sound through melodic progression and
blebees. The instrumentation swells as the singer
instrumentation. Additionally, the song feels dra-
gets deeper in thought about the effects of climate
matically more intimate than any other ABBA song.
change. The steadiness of the song‘s melodic pro-
“It’s amazing, darling, that so little can achieve so much.”
gression, however, gives little room for interesting vocal experimentation.
“
It’s like a dream within a dream that’s been
Don’t Shut Me Down • 10/10
“Oh how I do enjoy the sight of his rather clumsy, erratic
Infinitely replayable, this song is ABBA at their peak.
flight.”
decoded
the same emotional state as the singer before hur-
No Doubt About It • 7/10
-Don’t Shut Me
tling them both into soaring heights with its groovy
“No Doubt About It” is unique in that the song’s
first verse and even groovier chorus. With lyrics so
narrator has low emotional intelligence, unlike
visceral, the song almost sounds like it was written
most pop songs, which see their singers expressing
for a musical — a testament to the band’s ability to
themselves adequately. Instead, the singer’s partner
transport listeners into new worlds.
acts as the song’s emotional heart, and the singer’s
“I’m like a dream within a dream that’s been decoded.”
ignorance is what makes her endearing. While the
struggles to hit this song’s higher notes.
spells out the love-at-first-sight unspoken connection
“Hissing like a wildcat when I should be purring.”
often written about in pop songs. Punchy and unafraid, it harkens back to ABBA’s more rock-ish origins.
Ode to Freedom • 8/10
Paralleling the flirtatious interaction illustrated in
“Ode to Freedom” is a poem put to song. The fact
the song, the vocals answer and interact with the
that such a high-concept anthem is in a pop album
piano part for an immensely satisfying connection
is almost laughable, but it firmly belongs in “Voy-
between the lyrics and the music.
age,” especially as its final track. Perhaps the best
“We’ll be dancing through the night, knowing everything
part about “Ode to Freedom” is that it is not ABBA’s
from there on must be right.”
ode to freedom, but the antithesis of it. Majestic and introspective, this song swells in sound as it swells
I Can Be That Woman • 4/10
in conviction.
“I Can Be That Woman” wants so badly to be the
“If I ever wrote my ode to freedom, it would be in prose
album’s emotionally moving power ballad like “Fer-
that chimes with me.”
nando” and “Chiquitita,” but it’s weighed down by overly complex lyrics and a tonal imbalance. The lyrical
VOYAGE • 8/10
throughline is a dog that the couple shares, but its
Thematically, “Voyage” is ABBA at their peak. De-
presence feels out of place for a song about mending
spite the 40-year gap, the album sounds like a direct
a relationship. The melody and instrumentation are
follow-up to 1981’s “The Visitors.” With some of the
some of the best in “Voyage,” but harsh-sounding
strongest lyrics the band has ever put out and melodies
lyrics clash with its sweeping sound.
that are almost just as danceable as “Mamma Mia,”
“I feel sick, and my hands are shaking — this is how all
ABBA is as much ABBA in 2021 as they were in 1975.
our fights have begun.” Keep an Eye on Dan • 9/10 ABBA’s later career is highlighted by their penchant for discussing heavy topics put to dance-worthy music (see “Super Trouper” and “If It Wasn’t for the Nights”), and “Keep an Eye on Dan” is the most recent example. Synth tracks mount tension and terror as the song paints a picture of a mother leaving her son with her ex-husband. Co-written by Björn and sung by his ex-wife Agnetha, with whom he shares two children, “Keep an Eye on Dan” clearly comes from a place of personal experience, making its message all the more powerful.
“
We stand on the summit, humble and grateful to have survived - I Still Have Faith In You 8/10
“
We’ll be dancing through the night, knowing everything from thereon must be right
“
that the women’s voices have aged, Frida noticeably
Recorded in 1978 but never released, “Just a Notion”
“
rest of the album’s songs deal well with the fact Just a Notion • 9/10
Down 10/10
“
The slower, subdued opening orients the listener into
- Just A Notion 9/10
“I know that this shouldn’t be a traumatic event, but it is.” THEVINDI.COM | 9