Dua Lipa has a knack for delivering exactly what the world requires. Throughout 2020, as the humankind grappled with a unique pandemic situation, her approach to future nostalgia, a notion that it acknowledges the past while assertively steering pop music to a brighter future, resulted in one of the top albums of the year. A world suffering from division and war four years later finds solace in the London-born singer bringing much-required radical optimism.
Lipa’s third album is dominated by the notion of positivity, but it’s not the only subject occupying her mind. While Beyoncé explores country music and Taylor Swift immerses in another melancholic break-up album, Lipa seems to be the prototypical pop sensation that is urgently needed. With a string of 2023 hits to her credit – the omnipresent “Dance the Night” from Barbie (marking her debut on the big screen) and the bubbly “Houdini” – she has indisputably raised the stakes.
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Lipa’s new album, according to her claims, has been influenced by the Britpop of the 90s, but this appears to be an abstract influence. An inspiration that is still significant stems from one of the producers and co-writers, Kevin Parker from Tame Impala. Parker’s devotion to 70s psychedelia is present in the tracks “Houdini,” “Training Season,” and “Whatcha Doing?”
“Illusion”, is a lively track set for a club remix, pays homage to the disco sound borrowed on Future Nostalgia while the cantering beat of “Falling Forever” could be Lipa’s closest brush with a power ballad. Despite a few sombre moments, the collection is overall upbeat and concise (with only one song exceeding four minutes). Even the eclectic “Anything for Love” starts off as a gentle piano ballad before unexpectedly morphing into a funky strut.
Lipa appears to have matured significantly since the year 2020. Several songs from her album ‘Radical Optimism’, demonstrate this growth, such as the joyfully optimistic song ‘End of an Era’, which revels in the exhilaration of new relationships. Conversely, tracks like ‘Illusion’ serve as warnings, while the elegantly sophisticated ‘French Exit’ and ‘Happy for You’, in which she offers a fond farewell to past lovers, reference past amours with nostalgic sentiment. Nonetheless, Lipa never indulges in melancholy. The album’s underlying objective appears to be consistent progress, no matter the circumstance. Lipa describes her album as a celebration of “joy and unity”. It comes across to the audience as the long-awaited pop album of their dreams.