ABBA are reuniting

BTW I was legitimately in tears of joy when news broke of the album because of how the world is and everything is always better with ABBA.

Okay, thse are growing on me.

Don’t Shut Me Down has been pleasurably pinging in my head non-stop for two days now

I'll post a review of the show next August. Yeah, I succumbed.

I don't like ABBA much, but I do respect that after reportedly/allegedly turning down decades of reunion offers for hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars, they more or less just quietly went and did it themselves, when the world was at its most distracted and needed them least/most (take your pick).

These two tracks are surprisingly good and, yes, in so many ways just what the doctor ordered. What I can’t believe is how much they sound like themselves here. I mean, these are all septuagenarians (all 76 but Agnetha who is 71). For a ton of reasons, they should sound very different. Yet they don’t.

I’m mildly interested in seeing what they do with the avatar thing.

One thing: Bjorn says that “I Still Have Faith in You” is about the band’s relationships with one another and how they have remained “the best of friends.” Is the latter remotely true? Or sentimental pap? I had always worked under the assumption that at least one of the divorces ended pretty badly.

The Richard and Linda Thompson divorce was historically terrible, too, but I believe they are friends now. I think that's not uncommon after decades of reflection, and I doubt it usually even takes that long.

I especially like how these really really sound like ABBA and they haven't tried to go all EDM or something.
The whole branding (as well as the "computer"-based language on 'Don't Shut Me Down') reminds me of Random Access Memories a little bit.

This whole revival has led me into a wikipedia rabbit hole. I didnt know about all the tragedies that Agnetha went through... This band's history is straight out of a Bergman movie. "Voyage" being their "Saraband"

Was looking at ABBA Revival as a potential screenname but, not only is it taken, it is the name of an ABBA tribute band.

Is the latter remotely true? Or sentimental pap?

True, I reckon, as evidenced when they chose "The Way Old Friends Do" to sing onstage together in 2016: "And after fights and words of violence, we make up with each other, the way old friends do"

Little Boots will be part of the live band (keyboards/backing vocals), and she's also been working with ABBA in the studio. Full post and studio pic with Benny: https://www.facebook.com/littleboots/posts/392293902267346

Cool! *Looks up Little Boots*

I Still Have Faith In You has really grown on me. Shut Me Down was the instant banger but ISHFIY deserves to become a standard

remember when those awesome new ABBA songs came out?

(been wanting to try out saying that, feels great)

Still feeling them

New song teaser sounding great.

I like the “f**k this 21st Century bullsh*t” look on their faces

https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2021/09/02/abba-2021-reunion-12d8b48a1226e153bd6d24dab72e04e4f7bd1a65-s1200-c85.webp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZhrf32Tq1A

SCHLAGER SCHLAGER SCHLAGER!

I love how they're absolutely refusing the temptation to go all drum'n'bass or whatever

OTM. Though at first I read that as, "I love how they're absolutely refusing the temptation to go all dumbass or whatever". The OTM still applied.

holy shit this one hit for me

I like that one, kinda ELO.

they apparently first tried recording this one in 1978 but weren't satisfied with it at the time

Holy shit, this could be off Ring Ring.

Yeah, part of the old demo version is included on the 23-minute "Undeleted Medley" that was released in 1994. The other one from that medley which will be on the new album is "Bumble Bee".

"distiny"

Yeah I was wondering if I might’ve first heard it there.

That hook is ridiculous. Listened twice and hummed it for hours.

Holy shit, this could be off Ring Ring.

It could and I'm loving that!

this is much more like it

Is there some practical explanation for why the previous two new songs charted high in the UK (and across Europe) but did not enter the US Hot 100? Has the Billboard chart gone rogue?

ABBA generally much more celebrated on this side of the pond than the US I can imagine?

Yeah, I assume it’s for the obvious reason (the tracks not being played on the radio here).

They both made the billboard global 200, which doesn’t include airplay, just streaming and sales.

Was this reunion a major news story in the US? It was over here!

Not that I’ve noticed.

Not quite the Beatles reforming but not far off it, put it that way.

I would've thought that after the two Mamma Mia! films every man woman and child in America would know ABBA, but yeah somehow that doesn't translate to radio play, which perhaps is the deeper mystery

their songs would sound very out of place on contemporary radio, regardless of how popular they are

Sadly feel their stuff is relegated to DJ wedding playlists at this point.

My daughter got excited when she heard about it and told my wife, but I don’t remember seeing any news alerts or stories about it.

America's relationship to ABBA is basically, like, lots and lots of people own 'ABBA Gold' on cd and play "Dancing Queen" sometimes and maybe they watched either or both of the Mamma Mia! movies, but that's the extent of it.

Pretty much

...and "Waterloo" & "Dancing Queen" get played on 'Classic Hits' radio from time to time.

One of my earliest music memories of any kind was seeing this TV 1978 special when it originally aired, featuring ABBA, Olivia Newton-John, and Andy Gibb. I just watched it again recently and was surprised that it was actually called Olivia!, with ABBA and Andy only getting second billing. Despite this, ABBA was big in the U.S. then, if not quite as much so as in the UK and throughout Europe. They had ten top-20 hits here and were all over the radio at the time, if not now.

Also, the segues between songs on that TV show are all-time. About half the show is elsewhere on Youtube in stereo, rare for 1978 TV.

lol what the hell is "when you danced with me"

There's a very good 4 or 5 song ep in this 10 song album.

From the Guardian review:

'When You Danced With Me' tells the story of a girl left behind in Kilkenny when a boy she loved “left for the city”. She’s spent years waiting for him to return, we’re told; presumably she’s oblivious to the existence in Ireland of train routes, driving tests or text messages. The Celtic-leaning melody in the intro recalls Abba’s incursions into other global settings, such as the Mexican battlefields in Fernando, or the Spanish-Peruvian musical moodboards of Chiquitita. The overall effect doesn’t prompt folkloric nostalgia, but mild nausea.