Dua Lipa - "Future Nostalgia" (2020)

Lizzi Trumbore
Apr 15, 2020
6 min read

With the exception of the formulaic and over-saccharine last track, “Future Nostalgia” is driving in a crafty and fun direction that I would LOVE to see pop music steer towards.

Prior to her new release UK pop singer, Dua Lipa was mostly known for her 2017 summer hit “No Rules.” It played on every radio station at least 8 times a day and I still have never grown tired of it, so I’ve been looking forward to this album for a minute now. Her new release “Future Nostalgia” is a super fun nod to disco and electro-pop from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. It’s retro while still sounding fresh, and (while not creating anything completely new and groundbreaking) pushing pop music in an elevated direction. The arrangements are really well-paced and whimsical; the lyrics play on classic pop themes of summer love and heartbreak in a playful yet sincere way; the instrumentation choices create a thoughtful, warm, and shimmery sound palate; AND Dua’s vocals are seeeeriously top notch. Aside from demonstrating her buttery and smooth voice that we’ve all come to appreciate, she shows off a pretty wide range and depth of personality in just her vocal delivery alone while always sounding controlled, natural, and confident. Yes we love a healthy sounding vocalist in our top Billboard charts!!! More pop music should be like this!!! Anyways.

What was about to be the pop album of the summer is now the album of quarantine times, and I think that’s actually a pretty great thing. While other big name pop artists like Lady Gaga and The 1975 are postponing their upcoming releases so that they can tour with their new albums, “Future Nostalgia” dropped while it’s still hot.

In an interview with BBC Dua says "Yes, it was made to be listened out in the clubs and at festivals - but at the same time, I wanted to give people some happiness during this time, where they don't have to think about what's going on and just shut off and dance. Maybe it had to just come out now, rather than later."

Even though her album was leaked a week before her initial release date, I’m totally with her. I get that it’s harder for artists to promote their music through live events now during these quaran-times but duuude we still need content to dance to and to keep us company more than ever. Plus big name pop artists are gonna be famous and get those clicks no matter what, so like… I think you’ll be fine Dua.

Highlights from this album for me include “Don’t Start Now,” “Cool,” and “Good in Bed.”

“Don’t Start Now” is the single that hooked us all on this new album. It’s a fun disco song that features lots of stripped down yet bumpin verses and choruses with primarily just bass and vocals. This bass + vocals structure is a theme that we see a lot on this record (and it totally works). Taking out the bass and drums in the pre-chorus and just having the chorus stripped down with just bass and percussion is so effective. Just an example of this album’s excellent and clever pacing!! I really love the hollow little cowbell hits and the fun disco synth strings that make me wanna strut down a catwalk but not really because I don’t like participating in general movement.

“Cool” is a shimmery summer song with a DANK chorus that hits so hard while still remaining chill and controlled. Although the lyrics are about a steamy and fun summer love, the melancholy and warm chord progression makes this song sound a little more bittersweet. It’s not overly happy or poppy, it’s just “cool.”

I think this song is where Dua’s vocals really shine the most. For the majority of the song, she’s singing in a higher chest range than she normally does and it sounds so effortlessssss. Plus she’s really bringing the rhythmic percussiveness and drive like Prince would, and I’m here for it.

“Good in Bed” is a departure from the heavily disco and 90s Euro-dance inspired tracks. This song has more of a whimsical and funky pop vibe that’s heavily inspired by early 2000s artists like Fergie and Lily Allen. This is a suuuper fun and cheeky song about keeping someone around in a mediocre/ dysfunctional relationship primarily because the sex is so good. The lyrics are pretty ridiculous and maybe a bit too on-the-nose at times, but the track is playful and tongue-in-cheek enough to balance everything out. I feel like a lot of people find this song obnoxious, and I get it. She’s got this lazy vocal delivery combined with this quirky chromatic earworm of a melody in the chorus, but I think this song just plays up this quirkiness so well. I think it’s so fun and I love it and I can’t get enough so there.

This is a really well-executed pop album with a clear mission statement and identity that I thoroughly enjoyed…. Until the very last track.

The track in question, “Boys Will be Boys,” is an over-saccharine and formulaic ballad with every intention of milking the shit out of being poignant. Dua’s lyrics draw attention to how society holds often more unrealistic standards for women than men. She touches upon the idea that women often feel as if they have to change the way they act, speak, and dress in order to appease a male-driven society. Obviously, I agree that this is all true. I think her heart was in the right place in writing these lyrics, but there are portions of this song that were sloppy, overly predictable, and too on-the-nose:

“I'm sure if there's something that I can't find the words to say I know that there will be a man around to save the day

And that was sarcasm, in case you needed it mansplained

I should've stuck to ballet

If you're offended by this song

You're clearly doing something wrong

If you're offended by this song

Then you're probably saying

Boys will be, boys will be boys… and girls will be women”

Again, while I also live in this male-dominated reality and agree with her points, I feel like Dua doesn’t serve her case well by utilizing overused terms like “mansplaining,” or by essentially calling out the very small minority of listeners that would be offended by these inherently non-offensive lyrics. If the lyrics were more artful, unique, and from a more inspired place, then I would absolutely be on board this train. But honestly, my main qualm with this song isn’t the lyrics; it’s the goddd daaamn arrangement.

It has all of the predictable qualities that so many cheesy inspirational pop ballads have these days: plucked strings, repetitive 4 chord piano chord progression, a militaristic snare drum, and an annoyingly angelic choir to add extra drama. It’s now a hackneyed recipe that takes away any potential authenticity of the track, therefore rendering it sterile. Songs like these are essentially using a formula, as if “snare drum + chorus of lil cherubs” is supposed to evoke real feeling and change. There are ways to evoke said feeling and change, but reading a script of how to do so comes off as lazy pandering.

It’s a shame that this album had to end on this note, because I thought this was otherwise a really substantial record. While not necessarily an ICONIC GROUNDBREAKING pop album of the decade, “Future Nostalgia” is driving in a crafty and fun direction that I would LOVE to see pop music steer towards. It’s got retro disco and dance elements with really thoughtful production and arrangements, the vocals are gorgeously executed, and the sound palate and instrumentation are super warm, intentional, and shimmery. Again, we LOVE a top 40 singer with a beautiful and clear healthy voice!!! Plus I read somewhere that she’s quitting smoking to focus on vocal health *swoon.*

While not every song is extremely memorable, I found every single song (except for the last one) to be really pleasant to listen to. Even if the chorus in a specific song wasn’t necessarily the most catchy, there was always something sneaking out of the nooks and crannies to latch onto and make you say, “Hey that was tight!” And I like saying that. Good on ya, Dua Lipa. 7.5 out of 10 bagels.