A to Z

The posthumous reputation of the final Abba albums perhaps raised expectations too far for the band’s hard-headed “ABBAtar” reformation, but Voyage bristles with redeeming features. The lighters-ahoy “I Still Have Faith In You” and the discofied “Don’t Shut Me Down” anchor a record that’s best considered as a hokey Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about a band reuniting 40 years after all the members got divorced. It’s silly in parts (“Little Things”), deranged in others (“Keep An Eye On Dan”) but the “ah-ha ah-ha” chorus on “Just A Notion” comfortably makes up for a multitude of sins.

JIM WIRTH

Polyrhythmic avant-pop veterans Aksak Maboul’s first album in 30 years, 2020’s Figures, added another layer of intrigue to their convoluted story – now it falls to 15 remixers to make sense of the Brussels band’s comeback. The catholic taste of Crammed boss and Aksak figurehead Marc Hollander means the likes of Cate Le Bon, The Notwist and Vanishing Twin are the bigger names here – CLB offers a vocodered caress to “Sophie La Bévue” – while the inscrutable richness of the source material inspires Hello Skinny, Stubbleman and electro-acoustic composer Carl Stone to leap through the looking-glass. Hollander’s four new reworks cap a handsome package.

PIERS MARTIN

Atkins wasn’t joking when she name-checked Garland and Minelli following this audacious live performance of songs from her delightful 2020 album Italian Ice, accompanied only by piano, violin and cello, having challenged herself to approach her own songs as if they were standards. Several of them, including “Captain”, “Forever” and “In The Splinters”, could be mistaken for Sondheim or Lloyd Webber show tunes, while “Far From Home” sounds like a Brill Building-era Carole King demo. Atkins belts and emotes without a trace of irony, clearly revelling in her ability to time-travel to a bygone era. To get the full effect, you have to see her pull it off, which renders the performance film the definitive version.

BUD SCOPPA

Several decades separated Ka Baird and Pekka Airaksinen when they started collaborating at a music festival in 2018. Yet the resulting album shows their clear artistic affinities. In places Hungry Shells evokes New Age music – see how “Parallax” and “Roseclouds” flow together lysergic synthesisers, avant-operatic vocals and flurries of piano. But it is often more challenging than that implies, especially the nine-minute title track, a sonic collage of harsh tones and queasy processing. An anchor of sorts can be found in the pair’s spoken Buddhist parables, which lend this chaotic record a sort of spiritual focus. Airaksinen passed away six months after Hungry Shells’ recording; it serves as an appropriate epitaph.

LOUIS PATTISON

After three vital LPs, climaxing with 2010’s panoramic Infinite Arms, Ben Bridwell found himself in a rut, his helium tenor adrift over half-hearted songs and rehashed arrangements. So in 2017 he reshuffled the lineup, grabbed the reins and set off in search of his elusive muse. From the electrifying first few minutes of Things Are Great, it’s evident that Bridwell is revitalised; his voice takes on newfound urgency amid the silvery guitars and buoyant rhythms of “Warning Signs” and “Crutch”. He then relives domestic disputes and panic attacks on “In Need Of Repair” and “Aftermath”, finding strength in vulnerability. The LP becomes increasingly ornate as it progresses, as orchestral flourishes and multi-tracked chorales signify the journey from darkness to light. BUD SCOPPA

Having worked with Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Plant & Krauss over his – Blake’s legendary status has long been assured. Here the veteran guitarist and banjo player negotiates a bunch of weathered folk-country ballads with consummate aplomb, aided by cellist wife Nancy and members of the Rising Fawn String Ensemble. Blake’s timeworn tones are perfect for “The Dying Cowboy” and the almost Biblical “Montcalm And Wolfe”, while a choir of voices guides “My Home’s Across The Blue Ridge Mountains”.