Dua Lipa uses samples from classic songs and makes her sophomore record stand firmly as an electro-pop prize.
After a successful eponymous debut record, Dua Lipa presented herself with a take no prisoner’s attitude. On her second album, this attitude still shines, in a very subtle way. Dua Lipa slyly presents 20s music through the music she grew up listening to during her adolescence and she takes full control in the process.
Starting with the futuristic title track, Dua opens up about female empowerment and what that means to her with an 80s sound accompanied by funky production. It helps set the tone for the rest of the album and provides one of the catchiest choruses for it. She references John Lautner and uses his architecture as a simile to her album, creating the perfect introduction to the rest of the record.
Throughout the rest of the album, Dua Lipa echoes of her inspirations from the 80s and 90s can be heard especially on tracks like Physical, which interpolates the Olivia Newton-John song of the same name.
The highlights of the album for me would be ‘Pretty Please’, in which you can hear the production of Ian Kirkpatrick (Selena Gomez’s Rare) instantly echoing so loudly, that it is no surprise that Julia Michaels is credited as a co-writer of the song too. I enjoy this because Dua’s vocals sound soft and stripped-back, which is something I rarely hear from her. It feels unique and interesting.
Clearly a disco-inspired concept album, Dua Lipa does not hold back from addressing any issues too (2017’s New Rules was probably just the beginning). She has long been known to be an outspoken character by standing up for what she believes in, including women’s rights, and does not shy away from doing so on this album too.
From start to finish, a sense of observation of the female experience is created from her perspective. Whether it is empowering women or challenging the inequality women face the track Boys Will Be Boys does this perfectly. This might the most political song I have heard from Dua Lipa and what helps make the bright and bold Futuristic Nostalgia as intentional as ever.
Score 7/10
Words: Zach Omitowoju