Future Nostalgia - Dua Lipa: Review
Dua Lipa
is a British pop star who was already famous by the time her 2017 self-titled album was released. Singles like New Rules and IDGAF helped propel her debut record to huge commercial success and after carrying on with even more successful singles for this record Future Nostalgia looks to follow in the foosteps of its predecessors commercial success while hopefully advancing some of its critical shortcomings.
Review By Lavender:
I caught a little bit of flack from fans on the internet for not enjoying Dua Lipa's debut record but I stand by my original assessment of the album as focus group pop music with no personality whatsoever. But the past few years have seen Dua come into her own as an artist in a very refreshing way and before even hearing this record for the first time it was clear that things had made a big change. Dua is slipping much more of her personality into these songs and they have been much better as a result, and when this records throwback disco aesthetic works it makes for some of the best pop music I've heard this year.
The record had four pretty popular singles and I really enjoyed three of them. The title track and opener Future Nostalgia is a killer introduction to the record and a great electro pop tune. The track has all the great songwriting of Carly Rae Jepsen but with a very different personality, Dua is smooth and confident on the track and it builds to a catchy and explosive hook. The only thing I wish is that I had known about this song when it came out in time to put it on my singles list last year. The records second single and by far its biggest hit is also a great song. Don't Start Now has a slick disco groove and a sugary sweet vocal performance that sees Dua's vocals jumping out of the mix with the bouncy percussion on the verses. But the chorus is a treat all its own as she gets isolated in front of a beautiful rising piano phrase and absolutely knocks it down. The final single before the release of the record Break My Heart may even be my favorite of the bunch as it pairs a deep hazy bassline with Dua's vocals to lull you into a sense of comfort before knocking you down with one of the best hooks I've heard this year.
The great tracks don't stop there either. Levitating is a great track that sees a latin pop influence showing up that honestly pairs with the disco sound pretty well. The bassline is slick as hell and parts of the instrumental even seem like they're coming from the Daft Punk camp which all combines for a solid track. And the closing track Boys Will Be Boys is a grand and anthemic song that serves as the closing track and has some strong inspiring feminist lyrical themes. The great subject matter is displayed in a really great way and I even wish the track had gone on a little bit longer because I quite enjoy it.
There aren't very many tracks I outright dislike on the record but there are certainly some problem points. Physical was a more recent single that seems like its in line to be a big hit but I don't enjoy it as much as I did the other three singles. The instrumental is actually kind of weak and while it all fits really well into the records sound and I think it belongs on the album there isn't any part of the song that really blows me away. Cool is a solid track that gets away with a really average instrumental and predictable structure because it has a great hook. The percussion is incredibly strong and when its paired with Dua's great vocals it makes for a simple snappy refrain that saves the song. Hallucinate is a decent track that could have been way better if the instrumental would lay off of some of its cringey EDM passages. Dua translates her falsetto into a solid hook but some of the drastically overblown instrumental passages break up the fun.
Love Again isn't a terrible song it's just a really generic pop ballad about being in love, its easy on the ears and I can't complain too much about it but it sounds more like the Dua from her first record than this one. Speaking of the first Dua record I think the vocals from Pretty Please are a leftover from that era because they couldn't possibly be more lifeless. 100% of the tracks personality comes on the instrumental side which is a shame because there are some super cool instrumental parts to the track but they are almost in vein. Good In Bed is the only track I outright can't stand even though I think the song topic and attitude are good. The hook is just really painful and difficult to sit through despite Dua's outward confidence in her sexuality and some funny lines this song needed a top to bottom rewrite to work.
Future Nostalgia is like so many pop records, a handful of shimmering highs, a few generic lows and a handful of in between. Thankfully the record is much more good than bad and the good is some of the best songs I've heard all year period forget just in pop. I think Dua has the opportunity to get even better from here because I already think this album is pretty good, but I'm hoping in a few years we will see it as an essential stepping stone towards a new modern classic from a talented young artist. 7/10
For more pop check out my review of Kesha's High Road here
