Can't handle my sound: a "Future Nostalgia" review
I wasn't expecting Dua Lipa to blast off as much as she did. When I first discovered her back in 2016, I was excited to see where she would go. But I wasn't expecting "New Rules" to blow up and for Dua Lipa to become a pop superstar. She deserved it, though. With a rich and expressive alto voice, a knack for good pop songs, and infectious command of the mic, she crafted one of the best pop records of 2017. With several hits under her belt and fun collaborations, it was safe to say Dua Lipa was here to stay, and I was a proud stan. Where to go from there?
How about back and forward at the same time? Lead-off single for her latest project, "Don't Start Now," brings disco influences to the forefront of a post-break-up kiss-off. Lipa is thriving after heartbreak, and she has a few things to say to her ex: "If you don't wanna see me dancing with somebody / If you wanna believe that anything could stop me / Don't show up / Don't come out / Don't start caring about me now." Moving on took some time, but now that Lipa has her light back, she's ready to party and forget about that bad relationship. And if her ex sees her with someone new? Too bad. Now that she's gone, it's a little too late for him to catch feelings for her. The fun and sassy tone of the track is complimented by a sick bass line that gets paired with string samples and synth patterns, hearkening back to a former era. However, the sound is fresh and infectious, Lipa and her team taking those elements and polishing them into pop perfection. Knowing the direction the album was heading, I was looking forward to what Dua Lipa had to offer with Future Nostalgia.
We have an early Album of the Year contender, everyone! Although it doesn't have the most original lyrics in terms of its love songs, Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia makes up for it in sound. The production is lush and spectacular, bringing soundscapes from the last half of the 20th century and revitalizing them for the modern era. Lipa's voice soars over the songs and flexes its muscles throughout, sing-rapping on one track and simmering on another. These songs about embracing power, falling in and out of love, and bringing the life to the party are the perfect soundtrack for an in-home party thanks to COVID-19 and the summer that will hopefully still shine bright. Every pop lover needs to hop on this album and revel in its callbacks and revitalization of retro swagger. Dua Lipa has found her sound. Now it's our turn to be in awe.
The title track of Future Nostalgia starts things off, a whispered "future" preceding percussion snaps and vocoder-infused recitations of the name of the track. At first, I was put off by the sing-rapping in the verses, but they definitely grew on me with repeated listens. It's awesome to hear Lipa sound confident behind the mic here, asserting her mission statement for the project. "You want a timeless song / I want to change the game / Like modern architecture / John Lautner coming your way," she declares in the first verse. However, it seems like someone, perhaps a listener, is greedy to find out the secrets behind this pivot. Lipa's response? "No matter what you do, I'm gonna get it without ya / I know you ain't used to a female alpha." Lipa is in control over funky synth grooves and glimmering keys, and she wants to keep it that way. It's a successful start to a project like this, one where the artist has made their idea crystal clear and is enjoying the ride.
With "Don't Start Now," things circle back to a pop staple: love songs. From the sizzling sex of "Cool," the Daft Punk-esque revel of "Levitating," desperate slow burn "Pretty Please," and 90's club tribute "Hallucinate," there's plenty to choose from and adore. However, the real deal is "Physical," one of the best pop songs of the new decade already. Borrowing a line from Olivia Newton-John's 80's smash of the same name, Lipa's track is synth-driven and bombastic, acknowledging the creation of "something phenomenal." A lover makes our singer feel "diamond rich," and that's something to celebrate. "Who needs to go to sleep / When I got you next to me?" Lipa coyly murmurs in the pre-chorus. Then the song opens up, pop nirvana building thanks to a drum machine and the synths. It's the kind of song you fist-pump to at 6 AM in the morning in your dorm room, or, as do shots. It's a rush of adrenaline, hitting that sweet spot just as the party's getting started. It also has one of the best bridges I've heard in pop music in a long time, so if you haven't heard this track yet, you need to get on it!
The back half of the album is a little more somber, although it's still filled with songs that'll bring everyone out to the dance floor. Sampling horns used in White Town's "Your Woman" and the Bing Crosby-written "My Woman," "Love Again" resonates more deeply than some of the other love songs on the record. Lipa feels a spark reigniting, as she realizes the man before her may be the one for her. The addition of strings with percussion is the cherry on top to a fun deep cut. Latest single "Break My Heart" samples INXS's "Need You Tonight" and turns that infatuation from the previous track on its head. Over bass and a shuffling beat, Lipa considers whether she "should've stayed at home / 'Cause [she] was doing better alone / But when [that guy] said, 'Hello' / [She] knew it was the end of it all." Could Lipa be "falling in love with the one who could break [her] heart?" There's no real answer to that, but the uncertainty may be part of the fun. "Good in Bed" and "Boys Will Be Boys" shift focus, the former a Lily Allen-reminiscent portrait of a bad relationship that's "good in bed," and the latter a poignant portrait on how women grow up before men do. It's a departure from the rest of the album's content in sound and mood (you won't be dancing to this one), but it's a refreshing reminder that in the scene where this album may be playing, women still face discrimination. It's time to change that.
Future Nostalgia is a wonderful album, plain and simple. Dua Lipa's growth is evident throughout the record's run, and the eclectic production is a wonderful nod to the past while sounding current and fresh. It'll definitely brighten up your quarantined days if you need to dance away the uncertainty, and when brighter days arrive, blast this from your car with the windows down.