After it was leaked two weeks prior to its original April 3 release date, English singer Dua Lipa released her newest album, “Future Nostalgia,” on March 27. The initially-troublesome incident became a happy accident for Lipa, who wanted fans to enjoy happiness during the COVID-19 outbreak.
In creating the album, Lipa said she wanted to reflect childhood influences such as Madonna, Blondie and Gwen Stefani. With a lineup like that, I was skeptical. The album did not start off strong. I initially had my doubts when the bubblegum pop title track began with the lyrics, “You want a timeless song/I wanna change the game,” sung in a raunchy derivative of Lipa’s true talent highlighted later in the album. This title track is a discombobulated mix of disco, funk and pop that doesn’t make me nostalgic in any way. Rather, I wish I could move onto the next track.
Yet, if you hang in there, nearly every song following the opening track lives up to expectations. It’s an explosively bright party that will help you dance your anxieties away. Lipa’s album picks up in tempo and emotion with songs like “Don’t Start Now,” “Cool” (my personal favorite) and “Hallucinate.” The suggestive and loud “Physical” urges listeners to “Keep on dancing like you ain’t got a choice.” “Levitating” is glittering and majestic. There isn’t a song that won’t appeal to listeners looking for an escape amidst the current chaos.
With an equally soft and captivating voice, Lipa caters to an audience that asks for nothing more but a chance to share music with someone else. The 24-year-old popstar captures our collective yearning to triumph over the bleak and isolating times with breathtaking clarity and sincerity. Her album transcends the grim reality of the world right now, offering an opportunity for people to connect through music despite physical distances.
Like a satisfying novel, the album wraps up with the illuminating and catchy “Boys Will be Boys.” The song is the empowering and enlightening feminist pop anthem every girl needs. Rather than lecture, Lipa highlights some of the most prominent problems in gender stereotyping and inequality with lyrics like “Put your keys between your knuckles when there’s boys around” and “We hide our figures, doing anything to shut their mouths/we smile away to ease the tension so it don’t go south.”
This message isn’t necessarily revolutionary, as these are sentiments girls have been fighting about for decades. However, Lipa introduces a song pulsing with defiance and reprimand that challenges toxic masculinity. The overarching message “Boys will be boys, but girls will be women” is not meant to imply that girls are better; it suggests that girls are taught to mature faster and accept inexcusable treatment from boys as mere mistakes.
Each song explores a different aspect of relationships in society—physical, vulnerable or hysterical—allowing listeners to see themselves in an affectionate and joyful light. “Future Nostalgia” is a spunky, playful and cohesive collection for a night out or an emergency dance party with some friends over Zoom during stressful and uncertain times. Even if the current climate wasn’t consumed by fear, this album would remind everyone that it’s okay to take a breath and dance without a purpose.
