Song of the Week: Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” Will Have Us Dancing All Summer
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The post Song of the Week: Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” Will Have Us Dancing All Summer appeared first on Consequence.
Song of the Week delves into the fresh songs we just can’t get out of our heads. Find these tracks and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist, and for our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Dua Lipa manages to get us all even more excited for the upcoming Barbie film with the summery, shimmering “Dance the Night.”
Folks, a legitimate contender for song of the summer has finally arrived. Dua Lipa, who is set to appear in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming cultural reset film Barbie, got in the studio and worked, assembling a pitch-perfect mixture of synth-pop and disco with “Dance the Night.” This shimmering sonic space is where the pop star shines brightest: Similarly structured tracks on Lipa’s Future Nostalgia successfully worked its way into our playlists and hearts back in 2020, and this latest drop shows that this particular sparkle isn’t fading any time soon.
The song kicks off with dramatic strings before a beat drops that all but demands choreography; thankfully, a playful, sleek routine is delivered during the chorus in accompanying music video, interspersed with clips from a dance number promised in the film. “Dance the Night” is the first look into the very star-studded soundtrack for Gerwig’s Barbie, which also boasts tracks from Charli XCX, Lizzo, HAIM, and our Ken, Ryan Gosling himself. (“City of Stars” prepared him for this and this alone!)
While plot details for Barbie remain relatively slim, we do know that Greta Gerwig has a strong voice as a writer and clear perspective as a director, and a recent interview with Vogue provided a glimpse into the headspace she was in when penning the script around the iconic Mattell doll: Gerwig references the creation story of Genesis, feminist theory, and grappling with mortality. She’s not here to play around, and neither was Dua Lipa when working on this track. Plus, the pink, disco-toned music video features a cameo from Gerwig herself.
There’s so much joy to be found in girlhood and growing up, and while it’s not all always sunshine and rainbows (as Margot Robbie’s Barbie seems to be realizing in the film), femininity and friendship are always worth celebrating. So as for this Barbie? I’ll be keeping “Dance the Night” on repeat until I can walk into the theater on July 21st to experience the film in full.
— Mary Siroky
Associate Editor
Honorable Mentions:
MONOGEM – “Feeling Myself”
All too often, implementing the idea of self-love is so much easier said than done. “Feeling Myself,” the latest from MONOGEM, provides a helpful confidence boost. The silky-smooth track features lyrics both in English and Spanish, and the celebration of individuality feels authentic. This is the artist’s first release since her 2021 debut bilingual record, Gardenia, and arrives at the perfect time: With summer approaching fast, the song seems to simmer with a low heat, pleasantly sticky and substantial. Don’t miss the visual, which features outfits by OLIMA Studio, known for past work with Beyoncé and Lady Gaga. — M. Siroky
Jungle – “Dominos”
The second single from Jungle’s upcoming album Volcano is “Dominos,” a slick, heavily-layered earworm. The flurry of voices high and low in the mix create a disorienting, psychedelic effect — a trait that lives in much of Jungle’s recent work. Very often with the UK duo, there is a marriage between classic, traditional soul instrumentation and digitized, synth and sample-forward expression. “Dominos” is no different, generating momentum and spreading out that energy with inhibition. It’s yet another example of why they’ve become a big ticket item: nobody sounds like Jungle. — Paolo Ragusa
Amanda Shires & Bobbie Nelson – “Always on My Mind”
Amanda Shires has shared a heartfelt cover of Willie Nelson’s “Always on My Mind,” alongside Willie’s late older sister Bobbie Nelson. It’s the second collaborative single from the two after last month’s gorgeous rendition of “Summertime,” and the latest offering off their upcoming June 23rd album, Loving You. But “Always on My Mind” contains a much softer emotional center than its predecessor. It’s a perfect showcase for Shires’ serene, resonant voice, bathed in reverb with stark singularity, making “Always on My Mind” an intimate offering that arguably packs a bigger punch than the original. — P.R.
Junip – “Line of Fire” feat. Sharon Van Etten
José González, Tobias Winterkorn, and Elias Araya make up the band Junip, which had been on hiatus from 2015 until today, when the trio released a new version of their track, “Line of Fire,” this time with Sharon Van Etten. More than ten years after the song’s initial release, Junip have reimagined the track to coincide with the release of the documentary Wild Life, which focuses on conservationist and Patagonoia founder Kris Tompkins, along with her relationship with husband Douglas Tompkins. Appropriately woodsy, the track still has a homespun feel to it a decade after its initial release, and Van Etten’s presence elevates the song that much more. — M. Siroky
Jenny Lewis – “Cherry Baby”
The latest single from her upcoming record Joy’All, “Cherry Baby” finds songwriter Jenny Lewis lovesick and sweet. Over a shuffling, summery instrumental, Lewis sings of hopelessly falling in love with anyone and everyone. “We’ll just wait and see if I don’t lose my mind/ I’ll get it right this time/ ’Cause I fall in love too easy, too easy,” she muses. But the admission doesn’t come across as bitter or defeated, but instead sentimental and determined that she’ll find her cherry baby yet. — Jonah Krueger
Home Is Where – “Floral Organs”
In comparison to our first taste of Home Is Where’s upcoming album The Whaler, “Floral Organs” takes a more straightforward approach to the band’s particular brand of folk-punk/power-pop/emo fusion. Instead of dramatic switches and intense dynamics, Home Is Where comes through with one of their catchiest tunes yet, complete with a bouncing beat and an energetic harmonica solo. The song serves as further evidence that Home Is Where’s output is only growing stronger, more realized, and perfectly idiosyncratic. — J. Krueger
Top Songs Playlist:
Song of the Week: Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” Will Have Us Dancing All Summer
Mary Siroky and Consequence Staff
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