Dua Lipa "Future Nostalgia" Review: Dancing As the World Stills

In a review for Teen Vogue, writer Cat Cardenas unpacks the sophomore album from Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia, and examines why it's a perfect record for this uncertain time.

Listen, no one plans to release a record in the middle of a global pandemic. In fact, some artists are actively avoiding it. It’s been a scary, uncertain past few weeks, but if there was ever a time to dance away your worries, it might just be when it feels like the world has turned upside-down.

It feels like an eternity has passed between the release of Dua Lipa’s second single, “Physical,” and the release of her sophomore album, Future Nostalgia, but in reality, it’s only been about two months. Obviously, a lot has changed since January, and moments of relief have been fleeting, but in the words of the pop queen herself, “music is what we need” right now. So rather than delay her album release, she bumped it up by a week.

Last year was a big year for Dua. She snagged her first two Grammys, split from longtime boyfriend Isaac Carew, dyed her hair platinum blond (we’ve all been there), started dating Anwar Hadid, and completely wiped her Insta after teasing the world with her lead single, “Don’t Start Now,” — the perfect answer to her 2017 smash hit, “New Rules.” Back then, she was offering up a step-by-step guide to help anyone trying to say no to a toxic ex, but now she’s here to make sure that ex knows his place, because amid the ‘80s synth-pop chorus and groovy bass line, she’s moved on, and she’s ready to get out on the dance floor again.

Dua followed up the release of “Don’t Start Now” with the futuristic dancercise-inspired song, “Physical,” and then “Break My Heart,” which features a glittery chorus over a staccato bass rhythm, just days before her album dropped on March 27. The aptly named album isn’t lacking in nostalgic references. Disco strings pepper the tracks, while thick, funky bass lines accent the singer’s tightly-produced vocals. Make no mistake, the international pop princess has come into her own on this record.

Most of the album’s 11 songs are a celebration of love without inhibition. While some might’ve expected a breakup album (“Don’t Start Now” and “Good in Bed” will help satisfy that craving), songs like “Cool” delve into the feeling of a new love with a youthful, reckless energy. The song’s plucky synth and drum samples contrast with the bright, airy delivery of her vocals, while the coy, seductive track “Pretty Please” leans into the deeper range of her mezzo voice as she begs, “Pretty please (Every single night)/I need your hands on me (When your kisses climb, oh, you give me)/Sweet relief.”

Throughout the album, she owns her power (“I know you ain’t used to a female alpha,” she says on the title track), and doesn’t shy away from her sensuality. Needing or craving sexual attention isn’t something she’s ashamed of, and on the Lily Allen-esque “Good in Bed,” she talks about a dysfunctional relationship that’s really good at one particular thing: “We don't know how to talk/But then we know how to f*ck.”

“Levitating,” a fun party track, and “Hallucinate,” a sticky sweet psychedelic song that features the singer wrapped up in an all-consuming, addictive love, don’t sound too far off from the Dua of her last album, albeit with even more electronic, dance pop influences.

By the time she reaches the last track, “Boys Will Be Boys,” she contrasts a delicate orchestral arrangement with a complete takedown of the patriarchy. With almost 60 songs recorded for this album, this song’s inclusion can’t be ignored. In just two verses she touches on mansplaining, sexual harassment, and male privilege before landing on the song’s catchy hook: “Boys will be boys, but girls will be women.”

Don’t get me wrong, Dua was a fully-fledged pop star before she graced our ears with Future Nostalgia. But after embracing a few viral memes and weathering online criticism about her stage presence, she’s emerged to throw it back in her critics' faces. Her live performances feature bumped up choreography, and each one of her singles has been designed to get people moving. From track to track she switches between stylized, spoken vocals, to her falsetto range, to the darker, sweeter tones, each more fleshed out than they were on her debut release. She’s left her old relationship in the dust and emerged confident and unapologetic.

It’s beyond satisfying to see an artist go from YouTube covers to breakout fame to pop stardom, but that trajectory is even better when they aren’t playing it safe. It would’ve been easy to fall back on the sounds that made her famous, but Future Nostalgia dips into those sounds while pushing forward into new sonic territory that combines the familiar with something brand new. With its blend of pop influences from Madonna to Gwen Stefani, the album is a fun, empowering triumph that serves as the perfect distraction when everything else feels like it’s falling apart.

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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue