One of the most anticipated
albums of 2020, Dua Lipa finally released her sophomore album Future Nostalgia.
It is actually quite tragic and heartbreaking to find out that the album was
released a week earlier because it was leaked by her fans in terms of “we
really need that album ASAP!”. That was a disrespectful thing to do to your
favorite artists. Aside from that, the album was also released during the
mass-quarantine to prevent COVID-19 outbreak much further, and indirectly, it
will certainly impact the physical album sales. Be strong, Dua!
The concept that Dua offers with
this album is simple: to feel nostalgic by bringing the disco back but with all
new, fresher sounds. I can say that she truly delivered this concept pretty
great throughout the album. All 11 songs have their own personalities and
references to certain singer’s signature sounds like Outkast, Prince, and even
Madonna. It is such a fun album to groove to or to dance to, especially during
the time like this. It is bright, bold, and straightforward, all in one
package.
The album starts with the title
track “Future Nostalgia”. Dua challenges the modern music status with this
song. She would rather change the game in the music industry than make a
timeless record. She wants to be like John Lautner in which he made a modernism
breakthrough in the middle of art deco era. That is what she wants to achieve.
It is also about female empowerment and confidence. Then, it continues to “Don’t
Start Now”, a nu-disco song with Eurodance elements which serves as the first
single of the album. I feel like this is the spiritual successor of New Rules
which brought her immense breakthrough in music industry. The lyrics are pretty
much the same with “New Rules” – to get over with your exes in boisterous way. “Cool”
is a synth-pop song where she talks about being in the middle of hot romance. “Physical”
is a powerful club banger with 80s disco, synth-pop influence. She purrs about
finding the diamond in her relationship and devotion. "Physical" is my personal favorite for this album. This song gives me a certain feeling and it just makes me want to ride Akira bike or Tron bike and cruising around the city, I don't know why. Next, we have "Levitating", an
electro-disco, Spice Girls styled song about a destined love. “Pretty Please”
is a stripped-back song with emphasizes the bass, a slow burner and seductive
one. “Hallucinate” is more like a house song. It could be great as the festival
opener or club closer. “Love Again” is something that the Bee Gees would make.
It has this electro-swing influence. “Break My Heart” is a song of chanted hard
choices in doing relationship. “Good in Bed” is about, well, good in bed. The
sound of this song reminds me of Lily Allen’s works. And the album closes with “Boys
Will Be Boys”. A voice, an invitation for all women to sing with Dua in
tackling gender inequality and double standard. It's the most distinctly
socio-political song on
Future Nostalgia.
The production of this album is
really bold and straightforward because Dua intends to make this album as an
escape pod from serious life environment although she inserts some political
messages in several songs. The concept is well-delivered and making it so fresh
yet so nostalgic. And with the perfect/bad timing of the album release, she actually
has already started a new decade of music with a masterpiece, a stamp, which it
could be a timeless and also a game changer. This is so far, one of the best musical
projects that released in 2020 and Dua is ready to pave her way as the main pop
girl in the music industry.
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