9.2/10
Favorite Track: Love Again Least Favorite Track: Hallucinate
You won’t find yourself any further than thirty seconds into London born singer/songwriter Dua Lipa’s sophomore release, Future Nostalgia, before she depicts to you her steep and ambitious musical intentions. On the intro, which also serves as the title track, she boasts “You want a timeless song, I want to change the game.” After listening to this LP, I find myself with an absence of a rebuttal; Lipa most likely will change the game. She has the platform and she most certainly has the sound; the two rarely come as a package deal. Future Nostalgia sounds larger than life. Rarely does modern pop music provide such lively production and such attention to detail. From the album’s synonymous basslines, to the gorgeous string sections, to the epic samples, Future Nostalgia isn’t thrown together. If the intro is her mission statement, the rest of the record is a James Bond movie, a mission accomplished. An 80’s aesthetic with an updated sound, themes of woman empowerment, and a production style focussed on fullness, all play a part in this album's greatness. “Don’t Start Now” follows the intro and provides an even greater experience. It’s an example of things to come with it’s gorgeous string section, iconic bassline, and cowbell garnishes, Lipa refuses to be silenced. She isn’t a model turned artist, she’s been an artist her whole life. On first listen, “Love Again” might sound like a pop rendition of the great John Williams Imperial March from the Star Wars franchise, but in reality it utilizes an obscure sample of Lew Stone & The Monseigneur Band’s 1932 track: “My Woman”. As if that wasn’t already enough to unpack, the beat suddenly drops into the land of infectious electro-funk bliss as Lipa admits “God d*mn you got me in love again”. Quite honestly it has been months since I’ve fallen in love with an album on the same degree as I have with this one. Future Nostalgia is Dua Lipa’s triumphant, unapologetic, attempt at revitalizing a career that didn’t know it needed a revamp; in doing so she effortlessly proves herself as the world’s new pop icon. Step aside Fiona Apple, 2020 belongs to the disco queen.