SOUND JUDGEMENT

The latest album releases reviewed

VOYAGE ABBA HHHHI

It’s the mother of all pop reunions. After almost 40 years, Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-frid Lyngstad are releasing one final album – an ode to their long, tangled history.

Voyage, however, should dispel suggestions they are making new music for cash – this is about legacy.

Songwriters Benny and Bjorn opt to address the topics that affect them now: aging, parenthood, divorce, domestic struggle and, ultimately, acceptance, making Voyage a strangely moving experience, given their back catalogue has become synonymous with unshackled good times.

It’s an apt culmination to their 50-year journey.

THE NEARER THE FOUNTAIN, MORE PURE THE STREAM FLOWS

DAMON ALBARN HHHHI

The most consistently interesting musician to emerge from Britpop takes inspiration from Iceland’s landscapes for his solo album.

The album was supposed to be an orchestral piece dedicated to the place that has become his second home, but during lockdown he returned to the music and developed 11 tracks that reflect on fragility and loss, resulting in an album that is mostly closer to The Good, The Bad & The Queen than Blur or Gorillaz.

The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows, with its shimmering, dreamlike atmosphere, is an album to rank with the best of Albarn’s constantly evolving career.

THE JOURNEY WET WET WET HHHII

Marti Pellow’s sudden departure in 2017 shocked his bandmates and charging on with a new vocalist was always going to divide fans, but their first album with former Liberty X singer Kevin Simm at the helm proves the decision was a savvy one.

Simm has a voice versatile enough to deal with the Wet Wet Wet musical palate: blue-eyed soul, lounge bar jazz and light-weight funk, and he throws himself into proceedings with admirable gusto.

Opener Back To Memphis is a delicious slice of romantic 80s-facing pop, with a classy, shuffling beat.

Deluxe editions of the album feature re-recorded versions of the band’s greatest hits proving that Simm has what it takes to carry the band into a new era.