ABBA's ninth studio album is a 'tour de force', and has a special mention of an Irish city.
The band's first album in 40 years contains 10 tracks, and will also see a hologram virtual tour kicking off next spring in London.
Newstalk music journalist and broadcaster Tom Dunne told The Hard Shoulder 'Voyage' is everything he expected.
"I think it's absolutely great, it's as simple as that.
"Beyond my wildest expectations, it really is - when I went in to listen to it, I couldn't get over how long ago it was.
"Forty years ago since they released anything, but even longer than that when they came on the scene.
"This is a world where empires have come and gone, and that world is dust - but yet ABBA have a new album out, it just seems really hard to believe".
Tom says one Irish city gets a special mention.
"Kilkenny is in an ABBA song - the protagonist in it leaves the girl and goes to the city.
"He leaves Kilkenny and he goes to the city, and she sings a song about how much she misses him since he went to the city."
Reminded by host Kieran Cuddihy that Kilkenny is a city, Tom suggests: "They should have mentioned Dún Laoghaire instead, I wonder could they change it?"
Tom says the band still blends together perfectly.
"It has all the required parts - Benny and Björn are still master songwriters... and then they put those songs into the voice, the mouths of Agnetha and Anni-Frid and that's when the alchemy happens.
"Those two girls are two of the most gifted singers.
"The songs have moved on, there's frailty in the songs: there's songs about Christmas, there's songs about children, there's songs about an old couple fighting.
"But it's really, really brilliant".
With comparisons to the later years of Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, Tom suggests: "ABBA have done some of their best music.
"ABBA really have something to say, and that is a very powerful thing".
Tom's final verdict: "It's a really beautiful strong album, don't teach your granny to suck eggs is the message I would say to people.
"I think it's great, it's a tour de force for me".
