ABBA's 'Voyage' shows the band's journey isn't over; Aimee Mann checks in to 'Hotel'

When ABBA broke up in 1982, the band left little hope for a reunion.

The Swedish quartet had already forever changed pop music, the members had made more money than they would ever need, and the two couples in the band had recently divorced, creating awkwardness.

Yet after ages of reflection, ABBA is back, improbably enough, with “Voyage,” a sophisticated valentine for fans that maturely captures the nuances of life, presented with the intricate sonic hooks of pop’s best songwriting duo, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, and sung by the transcendent vocal duo of Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad, who alternate at lead and also sing in tandem.

“Voyage” is a refreshingly old fashioned and dignified release from this band of 70-somethings, from the gorgeous anthem/first single opener “I Still Have Faith in You” to the subtly majestic closer, “Ode to Freedom.”

The poignant in-between songs come with traditional ABBA quirks, from the surprising Irish jig flavor of the spirited “When You Danced With Me” (where the heroine relishes a chance encounter with an ex, asking, “Happy to see me, or a bit embarrassed?”) to the off-kilter rhythmic grind of “Don’t Shut Me Down” (where the heroine works up the nerve to ask an ex for a second chance). And the unusual perspectives are quintessential ABBA, such as a sweet moment between parents on Christmas morning (“Little Things”), the tale of a perceptive dog inspiring a woman’s clarity on the country-esque “I Can Be That Woman” and the charm of a bee in the garden that serves as a sad warning about climate crisis on the hypnotic “Bumblebee.”

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Then there’s the touching “Keep an Eye on Dan,” which surfaces insecurities brought about by shared custody of a child, similar in tone to the 1981 ABBA song “Slipping Through My Fingers,” and even features a discrete riff from the group's 1975 hit single “S.O.S.”

ABBA may be much older now, but the magic is still there.

ABBA

"Journey"

Rating: 4 (out of 5)

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Mann checks into downcast 'Hotel'

Gifted singer-songwriter Aimee Mann was the perfect choice to compose music for a new stage adaptation of “Girl, Interrupted,” the 1993 Susanna Kaysen memoir about a young woman in a psychiatric hospital that was ultimately made into the 1999 film starring Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie.

Mann – a master of wry, smart and often magnificently sad lyrics – first broke through with her band ’Til Tuesday with the 1985 hit “Voices Carry,” about a controlling boyfriend. She subsequently wrote the music for the 1999 Paul Thomas Anderson film “Magnolia,” starring Tom Cruise, her music a match for the movie’s themes of abuse and loneliness. More recently, Mann released the self-explanatory 2017 solo album, “Mental Illness.”

So sure, she was almost too obvious for the new “Girl, Interrupted”-inspired “Queens of the Summer Hotel.”

What’s different for Mann now is the music. She usually works in folkish, acoustic and softer pop-rock contexts, but on “Queens” Mann is resplendent in chamber pop, an elegant foundation reminiscent of both The Carpenters and Burt Bacharach and a beautiful accompaniment to her lowkey spellbinding delivery of addictive hooks.

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There’s also a deceptively breezy air to the arrangements that contrast with the dark themes, whether it’s the tra-la-la-accented disappointment of “You Could Have Been a Roosevelt,” the chipper dress-up of a déjà vu-themed “At the Frick Museum,” the irresistible faux-sunny feel of piano and strings on “Home By Now” or the cellos and simple melody that skate around the heavy subject of “Burn It Out.”

By contrast, the lyrics are brutal: “You’re a balloon and all the world’s a pin,” Mann observes on “You’re Lost,” and “Suicide Is Murder” finds a calm Mann singing, “You’ve got to have the stomach for a heartless killing spree.”

“Queens of the Summer Hotel” is an embarrassment of riches: There’s not a bad song in the 15-track collection, though it’s long enough that the law of diminishing returns surfaces as the album plays out.

That’s not the worst problem to have.

Aimee Mann

"Queens of the Summer Hotel"

Rating: 4-1/2 (out of 5)

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Bestfriend's 'Places' evokes relatability

Bestfriend’s “Places I’ve Lived” explores the past with ambivalence – warmly and coolly looking at relationships and moments where hope and resignation intertwine and now occupy a gauzy time that evokes conflicting emotions in a bittersweet haze.

The Canadian indie-pop duo of Stacy Kim and Kaelan Geoffrey are conversational and personal in a surrealistically universal way. The track “Hannah in the City,” for example, is a glassy look at a doomed (or was it doomed?) relationship told in the softly insistent glow of electronic propulsion, and listeners may think of their own pasts: Were those old romances really so great and could they have been saved – or should they have been saved?

The dreamy musings are emotional but muted and vague, supported by soft arrangements that politely glide and bubble with clever nuance, such as the glitchy touches and flickering strokes that perforate the comforting hum of “You Want Everyone To Love You,” as Kim delicately sings, “Nothing you say is true because you want everyone to love you … except for me."

Some will be affected by Bestfriend’s blend of sweetness and urgency as they embrace fate in the heady beat of “Does It Matter?” and others will be drawn in by the breathy vocals of Geoffrey and Kim on “For Grace, After a Party” as they mesh into a drowsy subconscious via stuttering rhythm and stray guitar.

The duo stumbles through incongruous fidgeting here and there, particularly in the uneven ambitions of “Last Bus in the A.M.,” but Bestfriend pulls it together for a beautiful send-off lullaby, “Good to See You,” which gorgeously shimmers with naivete and a backing chorus of friends and fans.

You may not always know where you are on “Places I’ve Lived,” but you’ll be glad you’re there.

Bestfriend

"Places I've Lived"

Rating: 4 (out of 5)

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Voice, not lyrics, drive this web

Singer-songwriter Mimi Webb is more advanced as a singer than as a songwriter.

The 21-year-old English performer has a booming voice (though she doesn’t overplay it), distinct enunciation and a charming accent as she belts through her debut EP, “Seven Shades of Heartbreak” that feels like an introduction to a singer who will be around for years to come.

But lyrically, “Seven Shades” is more like the same shade seven times, with Webb wallowing in the ambivalence of a bad relationship, reiterating similar perspectives in all seven of the EP’s tracks. Her frustration is frustrating as she fusses and frets over an ex who she doesn’t think has tried hard enough to make the relationship work, and she chastises herself for finding it hard to let go. And the lines are loaded with clichés, if delivered with ferocity.

Her relationship purgatory will be a lyrical hell for seasoned listeners: Yes, adulting is hard and Webb is new at it, but her self-destructive and self-pitying impulses are tedious.

Still, Webb sets herself up with first track “Dumb Love,” a power-pop song that builds on its subtle opening as she paints a portrait of the kind of love “that cuts you up inside.” And her ensuing drama ranges from the rolling cadence and sharp hook of “Little Bit Louder” (where she’s afraid that being expressive of her love will somehow undermine it) to the downbeat gloom of “Heavenly,” where she confesses, “I’m tired of all the he said and she said … and three in the morning regrets.”

The lesser tracks are serviceable, too, thanks to Webb’s vocal conviction. She’s able to impart deep feelings in shallow expressions with her inflection and tone.

Maybe next time the lyrics will rise to the occasion, too.

Mimi Webb

"Seven Shades of Heartbreak"

Rating: 3 (out of 5)

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Karaboudjan obscures the familiar

There’s a series of popular music videos on YouTube, many of them using “oldies music playing in another room” in the title. Often, it’s raining in the background, maybe with thunder, or there are ocean waves or night sounds – and sometimes the audience “location” shifts and you’re on a train or a car instead of in another room. The upshot: Normal music (in this case music from many decades ago) is altered, muted and enhanced with nature sounds and/or human-made sound effects to create an anesthetized air that is surprisingly alluring.

Billy Kim uses techniques of his own to create a similar effect for “IMAGO,” the debut EP from his solo act Karaboudjan. “IMAGO” builds on the foundations of rock and pop music, streams in arcing instrumental refrains and launches Kim’s already-faraway vocals into the stratosphere for a psychedelic result.

“IMAGO” is a trippy experience, with Kim tweaking the familiar into an altered state.

For example, the downtempo track “Same Mistakes” begins with sweeping, chilly riffs, followed by a jagged beat and then the near-subliminal vocals of Kim, singing sparse lyrics.

Elsewhere, his presence alternates from mid-level to background, though he’s never at the forefront, whether he’s riding alongside the steady bass and grounded genesis of the faux-arena-rock “Seems Like,” merging with the loose and airy ebullience of “Falling Forwards” or lifting into outer space on closing track “I’ll Be Just Fine” as he takes on a ghostly persona to repeatedly sing, “I’ll be waiting by your side.”

“Let Go” is the most intriguing track, however, growing from mellow and soulful roots and filtering through a spacey treatment to conjure a futuristic style of ethereal yacht rock.

Ultimately “IMAGO” may feel slight and relatively unvaried, but it’s effective as a soothing diversion.

Karaboudjan

"IMAGO"

Rating: 3-1/2 (out of 5)

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Chuck Campbell is a content strategist for Go Knoxville and Knox News
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: ABBA's 'Voyage' shows the band's journey isn't over - music review