In the video for Dua Lipa’s Barbie hit, “Dance the Night,” an enormous disco ball crashes onto the floor, the bottom half of its mirrors shattering into a million pieces. In an interview, her collaborator Mark Ronson theorized that it signified the end of Lipa’s disco era, putting a bow on 2020’s now-classic Future Nostalgia.
Released during the pandemic, that blockbuster LP turned Lipa into a household name and ushered a disco revival into the pop galaxy. The present was bleak, but Future Nostalgia promised one hell of a good time. Four years later, Lipa has finally released her highly-anticipated new album, Radical Optimism. The cover art features her out in the ocean, appearing calm despite a looming great white shark. She says the album title refers to “the idea of going through chaos gracefully and feeling like you can weather any storm.” While working on it, Lipa listened to Blur, Oasis, and other Brit-pop bands she grew up hearing on the radio. She was so inspired by psychedelia that she enlisted Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, who co-wrote, co-produced, and played on many of the tracks here (among other collaborators).
Turns out Ronson was right, or sort of right. “End of an Era” is a tripped-out dance-pop banger, a party in paradise where Lipa is so giddy in the club she busts out some la-la-la-la-la’s. “These Walls” has a gorgeous melody, and whimsical opening lines (“Maybe we should switch careers/’Cause, baby, you know no one beats our poker faces”) that will rattle in your head for days — the mark of a true pop professor.
Lipa’s voice sounds stronger than ever on Radical Optimism. Just listen to the sleek, ABBA-esque single “Training Season” and you can hear these raw, velvety pipes bring a song about mediocre dudes to life. That same voice shines on the closing track, “Happy for You,” which sees Lipa ending a relationship on good terms, with nothing but respect for her ex’s new relationship. The song aches with maturity and grace, and culminates in happy tears. Lipa has bid farewell to disco, but you can still see a flickering of glitter in these new songs.
Unfortunately, Lipa sometimes sounds so chill that the music loses energy and starts to blur into a blissed-out glaze. Several of the songs on the second half of the record come off like background music, especially compared with potent past highlights like “Physical.” Ultimately, what you at times get is a watered-down version of Future Nostalgia, a record that feels adrift — even from Lipa herself. We didn’t expect her to cover Blur’s “Tender,” or drop her own line of lava lamps, but we were hoping for something a little more distinct.
Lipa never needed to make “Future Nostalgia Part Two.” No one expected her to be trapped in Studio 54 forever. Like any artist, she’s bound to evolve and expand her catalog, making records that capture where she’s at in life at any given time. But as of right now, it’s not entirely clear where she is on Radical Optimism. Perhaps that’s the point.
Ryley Paskal
