Dua Lipa’s new album, Future Nostalgia, offers an electric line-up of passionate tracks.
The album balances the nostalgia of distinctly 80’s and 90’s pop sound with lyrics inspired by Dua’s changing personal life. While still retaining her core sound, Dua admits to wanting to mature as an artist; culminating in the self-proclaimed, ‘dance crying’ feel.
A personal favourite on the album, “Cool”, speaks to those moments of crippling lust. Caught between a strong push and pull, Dua confesses to her new flame, ‘I love the way you move’, but implicitly recognises the distance between them, ‘I could see us in the real life’. “Hallucinate” and “Physical” share a similar infatuation but “Levitating” and “Pretty Please” develop this lust into a more grounded attraction.
Amidst all of this intense emotion, Dua quickly transitions to a warning against hasty love in “Love Again”, “Break My Heart”, and “Good In Bed”. In combination, these tracks echo a reluctance to be emotionally available, while cautiously leaving the door open to future possibilities. “Don’t Start Now” balances this fear with a strong revival of Dua’s fiercely independent spirit. ‘Did the heartbreak change me? Maybe, but look at where I ended up’. These polar emotions reflect Dua’s personal growth in her private life.
The synonymous single, “Future Nostalgia” begins the album, complimented by the final track, “Boys Will Be Boys”, which both declare Dua’s desire to be recognised and supported as a capable female artist. She also takes aim at gender imbalances and reminds her audience of the importance of female empowerment. Again, playing on another conceptual contrast, Dua is resolute in the fact that she is independent, but makes comment that women shouldn’t need to prove themselves as such.
Dua has certainly matured from her self-titled 2017 album and has been able to stay true to her voice. The retro-pop feel of Future Nostalgia is infused with a coming of age wisdom about love gained, lost, and potential; resulting in a flirty but serious masterpiece. All in all, this is an album to process experiences, and to add to your party playlist.
You can listen to "Don't Start Now" from Future Nostalgia here:
