‘Future Nostalgia’: Dance Your Way Through Quarantine

When her lead single “Don’t Start Now” came out last October, British singer Dua Lipa gave fans an exciting taste of what was to come on her sophomore album, “Future Nostalgia.” Now, a week ahead of schedule, the full product has finally arrived. The result is an unapologetic curation of funky, slinky, retro-inspired tracks, influenced by dance hits of the ’80s and early ’90s. With past hits “IDGAF” and “New Rules” under her belt, Lipa proved her talent for penning, as her one-time collaborator Mark Ronson put it, “sad bangers.” But “Future Nostalgia” proves that she can do much more, giving full display to Lipa’s wide musical range and killer songwriting instincts.

Title track “Future Nostalgia” sets the mood with heavy synths, electric sparks, and robotic beeps. Her lyrics read like a thesis for the rest of the album. They speak both to the empowerment of women and a desire to reinvent familiar tunes into a new sound altogether: “You want a timeless song, I wanna change the game / Like modern architecture, John Lautner coming your way,” Lipa sings. While the reference to a modernist American architect feels just a bit too highbrow for a club hit, the song’s disco-infused production speaks for itself.

The Glitzy, stylish breakup anthem “Don’t Start Now” quickly solidified itself as a pop staple last year, but many other songs from the album, particularly “Levitating” and “Break My Heart,” are sure to make their way to the top of the charts as well. Though each of the album’s tracks has a distinct sound, the songs are tied together by themes of growing love and female desire.

“Levitating” is full of electric ’90s house beats that build up gradually over the course of the song through layered synths. They form the perfect backdrop to Lipa’s rich, full-bodied voice. Her imaginative lyrics reach far beyond the confines of Earth, envisioning courtship in space: “If you wanna run away with me I know a galaxy / And I can take you for a ride.” The combination of effervescent beat and futurist imagery makes this song more emblematic of Lipa’s project than any other.

“Break My Heart” feels a little less Chaka Khan and a little more Madonna in her later years. The song is anchored by syncopated beats and strategic pauses that buoy the danceable rhythm. Its lyrics are catchy, fun, and lighthearted, with just the slightest hint of a potential danger. In the chorus she asks: “Am I falling in love with the one that could break my heart?” It’s a clever reminder that you can’t have love without heartbreak, giving the song just the right amount of self-aware edge.

Also noteworthy is the electric-pop track “Hallucinate,” which takes a page out of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” by anchoring the song to a compressed pulse. Lipa’s track is streamlined and yearning, eventually breaking out of its minimalism into an intensely pounding, climactic melody that just might earn her a seat up there with Summer.

“Love Again” cleverly samples 1997 hit song “Your Woman” — which itself borrows the original trumpet tune from “My Woman” by Lew Stone and the Monseigneur Band — while also bringing back the use of strings and adding a bit of guitar. It’s a swingy, instrumental affair that doesn’t dull in spite of its repetitiveness. The same can be said of the uber-sexy track “Pretty Please,” which plays with a slower tempo and staccato beats through a myriad of cowbells and synths.

Slightly less exciting are “Good in Bed,” an unabashed celebration of a relationship that balances atrocious communication with a great sex life, and the feminist track “Boys Will Be Boys.” Though both songs are worth listening to, they don’t have the same sleekness as the rest of the album. This is due less to each song’s individual production, and more to lyrics steeped in cliché. The chorus of “Good in Bed” tragically rhymes “bad,” “sad,” and “mad” as if this were a kindergarten lesson in learning how to read. And in “Boys Will Be Boys,” Lipa is a little too on the nose when she claims to sing the line “I know that there will be a man around to save the day” with “sarcasm, in case you needed it mansplained.” These lyrics are too obvious to land right, especially given that they follow powerful opening lines that describe women’s need to be vigilant while walking home alone. With these earlier lines, Lipa gives voice to a universal, identifiable feeling — which more successfully captures elements of the experience of being a woman than lyrics dropping terms like “mansplained” ever could.

It feels silly not to address the elephant in the room: Dua Lipa is releasing this album in a world put on lockdown. Rumors identify potential leaks as the reason behind the move to release sooner. Whether this is true or not, we should be thankful. In a time of worldwide panic, certain economic collapse, and fear, “Future Nostalgia” isn’t just a distraction, but a genuine joy.

— Staff writer Aline G. Damas can be reached at aline.damas@thecrimson.com.