Dua Lipa avoids sophomore slump with “Future Nostalgia”

Being one of the few albums to not have been postponed like the rest of normal life due to the current pandemic, Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia is the album of now. With songs like “Don’t Start Now” and “Physical”, which we have all heard by now, this album encapsulates a fun spirit and will have you looking forward to the summer. 

From the very first song, “Future Nostalgia”, you can tell this is not going to be like every other album out there. With a very space-age feel due to the use of robotic vocals throughout the track, Dua Lipa gives us something we haven’t heard since Daft Punk’s last release. 

With the rise in people joining TikTok to stave off boredom, it’s no wonder that “Don’t Start Now” has reached the levels of popularity it has managed. The fun little line “did a full 180” has everyone singing along and the rest of this album is full of these quick one-liners, even if they’re not as iconic. 

Like the title, the theme of this album is nostalgia. Many of the songs will have you feeling like you’re the protagonist of a 90s film, going on fun hijinks and navigating love with your friends around you – even if at the moment you’re not allowed near them. Songs like “Cool” and “Love Again” are good examples of this, being fun and cinematic.

There’s a strong groove throughout the album, almost every song being one you could mindlessly sway to. And the ones you can’t are club bangers that demand you get up and dance to them, like “Hallucinate” and “Levitate”. 

As you go through the album, you’ll find that there are quite a few killer basslines. The song “Pretty Please” having the best bassline, one that could possibly be as iconic as Charlie Puth’s in “Attention”. 

The last song on the album is nothing like the rest of the album. Even if you have no interest in listening to anything else on this album, “Boys Will Be Boys” is a really good testament to what it is to be a girl growing up and the way society sweeps men’s actions under the phrase “boys will be boys”. Dua really said ‘something for the girls’ with this song and for I commend her for it. It’s not a topic widely commented on, but maybe it should be?  

All in all, the album is fun and fantastic. The way it brings the past into the present with its modern interpretation of retro sounds and mixing techniques throughout the album really makes it worthy of its name, Future Nostalgia.