Song of the Week: Blink and Dua Lipa Is Gone Again on “Houdini”
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The post Song of the Week: Blink and Dua Lipa Is Gone Again on “Houdini” appeared first on Consequence.
Consequence‘s Song of the Week series highlights the best new releases of the week. Find these new favorites and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist, and for other great songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Dua Lipa returns with — what else? — a dance floor-ready bop.
Dua Lipa is officially back. The artist’s 2020 project, Future Nostalgia, included several nods to the ’80s, while “Houdini” kicks things back another decade: the Kevin Parker-produced single begins with a beat reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”
Dua Lipa has reportedly written 97 songs to be considered for her next album, and “Houdini” is a somewhat familiar but undoubtedly fun way to start off her next chapter. It doesn’t feel all that different from the artist who so thoroughly flourished on Future Nostalgia — she absolutely knows how to write an addictive chorus, and the organ solo in the bridge is an inspired choice.
The music video leans into the ’70s energy with Dua decked in a Chorus Line-ready leotard as she shimmies through something less akin to choreography and more like the type of free-spirited movement people might break out in the club: It’s sweaty, it’s contagious, and it’s confident. It’s also funny that the flighty artist, known for constantly being on the go and jet-setting from glamorous locale to equally glamorous locale, would choose to center the song on being impossible to pin down. Go girl, give us everything, indeed.
“Houdini” is also refreshing in the fact that it stretches past three minutes, a simple benchmark that has become all too rare for pop songs in the TikTok age. It’s hard to keep people’s attention these days — but if anyone was going to be able to do so in a week packed with Grammy nominations and so much more, it was Dua Lipa.
— Mary Siroky
Associate Editor
Honorable Mentions
Bloomsday — “Where I End and You Begin”
Bloomsday’s Iris James Garrison makes achieving sonic bliss look easy. Their sense of melody and strong grasp of songwriting come together to form beautiful, compelling, emotional little tunes. Their latest effort, “Where I End and You Begin,” is no different. With it’s understated vocals and cathartic but not explosive outro, it’s a track that easily ranks month Garrison’s best work yet. Settle in, get in touch with your feelings, and throw on “Where I End and You Begin;” you’ll thank me later. — Jonah Krueger
JOYNER – “New Friends”
Sister duo JOYNER have such a grasp on synth-pop it sounds like they were born into it. The desire to shake up an immediate circle of acquaintances is communicated on the dance floor in their latest release, a golden and shimmering single from a 2024 album. While the girls certainly know how to craft a bouncy melody, there’s often an emotional intimacy underneath the catchiness of the music these two create, and “New Friends” is no exception. — M. Siroky
Levitation Room – “Heaven”
Levitation Room returned this week with another dreamy new track, aptly titled “Heaven.” There’s a delightful tenderness that characterizes much of the song; vocalist Julian Porte’s gentle, lovelorn melodies can feel like a warm hug, and when he hits the pair of “oh-oh”s in each chorus, there’s a silly sweetness that draws you closer in. The song’s bridge then shifts to a fuzzy, syncopated guitar riff, adding a passionate jolt of energy — but when they return back to the main groove, it feels like a coming together. Some songs capture heaven for just moment; Levitation Room find it even on the first strum of a guitar. — Paolo Ragusa
Marika Hackman – “Slime”
On this lowkey affair from singer-songwriter Marika Hackman, “Slime” opens up with just a solo guitar and the singer before picking up the intensity into the chorus. It’s a sneakily sexy track that takes us on a trip through the mind of Hackman, giving us a deeper gaze into building the relationship, the wants, and the needs she has from her partner. “I want your head above mine/ These things take a little time” she sings, wanting her companion there with her as they work to figure everything out together. — Aidan Sharp-Moses
Middle Part – “Get Fixed”
Middle Part — the project of Brooklyn musician Andy Selkōw — is back with a rousing new track, “Get Fixed,” and it’s a great representation of what he does best. The song is undoubtedly nostalgic (the single’s artwork is a familiar-looking backpack filled with candy, a 2000s era cell phone, and yellow detention slip), as Selkōw channels the shiny, slacker-friendly pop rock of the early aughts. But despite some of the dreamier aspects to his sound, he lands on a rather thorny note: “I swear to God you’re a mess/ Stop trying to be somebody else,” he decrees at the end of each chorus. “Get Fixed” is a much more active and immediate offering from Middle Part, and it sets him up for an exciting new era. — P. Ragusa
Sheer Mag – “Playing Favorites”
Sheer Mag are back with another single for their upcoming album, Playing Favorites, and it is a blast, rolling through the three-minute runtime with ferocious energy. “Playing Favorites” opens up with jangly guitar lines before picking up the pace and racing through to the chorus, running through the whole week in the process. An upbeat and bittersweet fare about performing and the power of playing music and listening along, this song provides a burst of energy to get through the week, if not the month. — A. Sharp-Moses
youbet — “Carsick”
The newest signees of Hardly Art, Brooklyn’s youbet has returned with their first new release since their 2020 debut Compare & Despair, “Carsick.” The song kicks off with cracked, distorted guitar chords before settling in to a more laid-back, folky, extremely tuneful indie jam. Lead by sweetly sung vocals and accompanying harmonies, guitar licks, electric piano embellishments, and solo breaks keep the track from ever staying in one place for too long, resulting in a cut that’s as catchy as it is unpredictable. — J. Krueger
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Song of the Week: Blink and Dua Lipa Is Gone Again on “Houdini”
Mary Siroky and Consequence Staff
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