Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition) | Album Review 💿

Grammy winner Dua Lipa continues her shine on the expanded version of her sophomore LP, Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition).

From start to finish, 🏆 Grammy-winning English pop star 🎙 Dua Lipa is on autopilot on her incredibly engaging, utterly consistent sophomore album, 💿 Future Nostalgia. Not only is she ‘on,’ but I dare you find a chorus that won’t get stuck in your head after listening!  Following additional Grammy nominations, she reissues Future Nostalgia in a deluxe edition, 💿 Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition), that’s totally worth checking out. 

“Future Nostalgia”

“You want the recipe, but can’t handle my sound / My sound, my sound (future, future nostalgia).” Dua Lipa kicks off Future Nostalgia with the hella confident, super energetic title track.  From the opening tip of ✅ 🎵 “Future Nostalgia,” the pop singer is on-point, performing in an assertive, tongue-n-cheek, chanted style on the verses. On the chorus, partially excerpted above, she shows off those powerful pipes, in all their glory.

Electrifying, energetic promo single ✅ 🎵 “Don’t Start Now” appears as the second track, on Future Nostalgia. It has all the makings of a pop bop. The groove is infectious, instantly a catalyst for foot tapping, head nodding, and busting a move.  Further cementing the bop status are the robust bass line, keyboards, and synths (including strings).  Stylistically, “Don’t Start Now” is a neo-disco single – a pop single incorporating dance and R&B cues. Dua continues to impress with her husky, expressive lead vocals. The songwriting is catchy and quite engaging, with the focal point being matters of the heart. The chorus serves as the centerpiece of this gem:

“Don’t show up, don’t come out
Don’t start caring about me now
Walk away, you know how
Don’t start caring about me now.”

“Cool” 

Following up the electric “Don’t Start Now” is no easy task.  Dua Lipa does a bang-up job with 🎵 “Cool,” another memorable, well-rounded record.  All the ingredients that made “Future Nostalgia” and “Don’t Start Now” elite remain intact on “Cool.” 🎛 Stuart Price and 🎛 TMS give her a colorful backdrop to work with, incorporating the best of pop of old as well as that ‘futuristic’ script.  Most notably, Dua has the personality and pipes to construct a terrific performance.  Once again, the chorus ranks among the biggest selling points – catchy and energetic AF.

“Common love isn’t for us / We created something phenomenal…” Ah, sugar honey iced tea! The Grammy-winner continues to ‘lose her cool’ on ✅ 🎵 “Physical”, where the love is lit AF. The sensually charged “Physical” was written by Lipa alongside 🎼✍ Clarence Coffee Jr., 🎼✍ Jason Evigan, and 🎼✍ Sarah Hudson.  The production (Evigan and 🎛 Stephen “KOZ” Kozmeniuk), suggests, it’s going down. Even though sex is the modus operandi, Lipa airs on tasteful fun as opposed to explicitness, hence, “Physical” is suggestive and sexy without crossing lines.  As always, she sounds incredible, continuing to spoil with those husky, top-rate pipes.  She’s playful on the verses, ‘bringing it on home’ on the centerpiece, the incredibly ‘physical’ chorus.

“Levitating” 

Picking out the most accomplished, most fun songs on Future Nostalgia is tough – there’s literally an album’s worth of bops.  ✅ 🎵 “Levitating” makes a compelling case among the crème de la crème, considering the ‘loving’ has the pop star rising/floating, defying gravity.  Every chorus is pretty amazing throughout Future Nostalgia, but “Levitating” hits especially hard:

“I got you, moonlight, you’re my starlight
I need you, all night, come on, dance with me
I’m levitating.”

Besides singing like a champ, Lipa wows on the chanted, tongue-n-cheek bridge, which rivals her approach on the aforementioned title track (“My love is like a rocket, watch it blast off / And I’m feeling so electric, dance my ass off”).  Things don’t slacken on follow-up 🎵 “Pretty Please” where the pleasure is an essential – “Pretty please / I need your hands on me / Sweet relief / Pretty please.” One of the best moments of this particular number is the end of the pre-chorus leading into the aforementioned chorus where Lipa slows the tempo temporarily singing, “Could you help me slow it down?” before picking things back up (“Put my mind at ease…”).  One of those the little details contribute to the overall success of Future Nostalgia.

“Hallucinate”

Matters of the heart continue to dominate on the dance ready 🎵 “Hallucinate,” where she loses her mind literally “when he calls her name.” Keeping the tempo quick and backed by a hard-hitting, intense backdrop (🎛 SG Lewis and Price once again). Dua Lipa doesn’t miss a beat, seven tracks in. All boxes continue to be checked off.  And just when you think ✅ 🎵 “Love Again” is going to be the first ballad to grace Future Nostalgia, following a slower intro, both the groove and tempo kicks in.  KOZ produces the longest record of the album, which clocks in at over four minutes in duration.  Even so, “Love Again” continues the consistent, entertaining run Dua is on, showcasing terrific vocals, catchy songwriting, and decadent ear candy – those disco strings tho! A sample (🎵 “Your Woman” by 🎙 White Town) goes a long way, sigh.

✅ 🎵 “Break My Heart” shows no letdown, ranking among the best of the best gracing Future Nostalgia.  Again, fueled by sample (🎵 “Need You Tonight”, courtesy of 🎙 INXS) and working with an elite production team (🎛 Watt and 🎛 Monsters and Strangerz), Dua Lipa continues to slay. How so? That attitude, feistiness, and sassiness.  On the chorus, she asserts:

“I would’ve stayed at home
‘Cause I was doing better alone
But when you said, ‘Hello’
I knew that was the end of it all.”

Ultimately, she asks herself at the end of the chorus, “Am I feeling in love with the one that could break my heart?”

“Good in Bed”  

While love and sex have dominated Future Nostalgia, penultimate cut ✅ 🎵 “Good in Bed” manages to separate itself from the rest.  For one, it features contrasting production work, courtesy of 🎛 Lindgren and 🎛 Take a Daytrip.  Sure, it’s still pop with dance and electronic sensibilities, but there’s a more soulful, old-school, hip-hop vibe compared to the preceding tracks.  This sounds like a record that someone like Amy Winehouse may have recorded had she lived.  “Good in Bed” finds Dua Lipa giving us some of her most cutting, throaty vocals of the album, not to mention a heaping dose of repetition on the infectious, tongue-n-cheek chorus:

“I know it’s really bad, bad, bad, bad, bad
Messing with my head, head, head, head, head
We drive each other mad, mad, mad, mad, mad
But baby, that’s what makes us good in bed...”

Dua Lipa concludes the standard edition of Future Nostalgia with 🎵 “Boys Will Be Boys,” which is pretty straightforward in messaging.  While Future Nostalgia lacks a slow jam, the brief balladry of “Boys Will Be Boys” is the closest the album comes.  While Dua has shown off the versatility of her instrument throughout, this record further confirms her skills.

“Fever”

On the brief, fun standout ✅ 🎵 “Fever”, Dua Lipa is joined by Belgian musician 🎙 Angèle. In addition to Dua Lipa and Angèle as writers, there’s a team comprised of 🎼✍ Caroline Ailin, 🎼✍ Ian Kirkpatrick, 🎼✍ Jacob Kasher Hindlin, and 🎼✍ Julia Michaels. Kirkpatrick produces giving them a sleek backdrop to paint over.  The sound is fresh and modern. Dua gets off to a great start, unleashing matters of the heart.  “Before you came around, I was doing just fine,” she asserts on the first verse, before she begins to ‘come down with that fever,’ highlighted on the chorus.  Angèle contrasts on the second verse and bridge, singing in French, fitting on a love-centric joint like this one.  They join forces after the bridge, led by Dua. All in all, “Fever” is well-rounded.

✅ 🎵 “We’re Good” has a strong case for the crowning achievement of the reissued Moonlight Edition of Dua’s sophomore album.  Sleekly produced by 🎛 Sly, Dua has a superb backdrop to paint those expressive pipes over.  Her tone and respective vocal nuances continue to impress, particularly on the chorus.  She’s at her best towards the end of this brief but potent number when she ‘lets loose,’ all without ever losing composure or dare over singing.

“Prisoner”

“Prisoner, prisoner, locked up / Can’t get you off my mind, off my mind.” 🎙 Miley Cyrus collaborated with Dua Lipa on 🎵 “Prisoner”, a standout from her 2020 studio album, 💿 Plastic Hearts. It’s reprised on Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition). On “Prisoner,” Cyrus is turned up, assertive, and gritty.  Likewise, Dua is dynamic, cutting and rousing.  She takes the lead on the first verse while Cyrus reclaims the reins on the pre-chorus, splitting the energetic, memorable chorus with Dua. Then, roles flip flop with Cyrus taking the second verse, Lipa singing most of the pre-chorus, and Cyrus leading much of the chorus. Besides strong, passionate vocals, Cyrus and Lipa get sweet production work courtesy of The Monsters & Strangerz and watt.  Ultimately, they ‘do the damn thing.’  Add passionate lyrics, a minor key, and excellent production and “Prisoner” is another certified bop.

Much like Future Nostalgia in its original form, The Moonlight Edition doesn’t miss a beat.  The groovy 🎵 “If It Ain’t Me” keeps the bops coming, period.  The record is groovy, the vocals elite, and the chorus catchy as hell.  “If It Ain’t Me” doesn’t supplant those established juggernauts mind you, but it’s a pretty capable supplement if you will.  From there, 🎵 “That Kind of Woman” brings in more awesome production work from Stuart Price again, alongside 🎛 Justin Parker.  The sound, once more, balances the brilliant dance pop of the past (namely the late 70s/80s) and of the 2020s. Again, it’s a perfect fit for the aesthetic and overall vibe for Future Nostalgia, enhancing as opposed to detracting.

“Not My Problem”

✅ 🎵 “Not My Problem” provides a bit more modern pop flare – contrasting the songs preceding it.  As always, Dua’s personality is on 10 as she exhibits ample attitude. This attitude complements the adventurous, rhythmic, and gimmicky production (KOZ).  Furthermore, the guest rap by 🎙 JID works well here.  This is a record that screams hip-hop feature, and that’s what Dua gives us.

✅ 🎵 “Levitating” certainly didn’t need a remix – it’s a hit on its own – but why not bring in one of rap’s most highly demanded artists in 🎙 DaBaby?  While his abrupt start at the top of the cut is a bit questionable, once he gets into his full-length guest verse, he rides the beat like a champ.  The original still ‘takes the cake,’ but the remix is successful all in all.  The Moonlight Edition concludes with a little Latin flavor via 🎵 “Un Día (One Day).”  The star-studded cast is comprised of 🎙 J Balvin, 🎙 Bad Bunny, and 🎙 Tainy.  Of course, Lipa is the only artist who performs in English, dropping the centerpiece, the chorus, singing, “One day you’ll love me again / One day you’ll love me for sure…” Like all of the songs from the expanded edition, “Un Día (One Day)” is another ‘W.’

Final Thoughts 💭 

Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition) extends the Dua Lipa victory lap.  Add eight songs and Future Nostalgia continues to showcase the talents of the artist.  Furthermore, those bonus cuts fit within the identity that was clearly and masterfully established on the original release. There are no bad songs or glaring miscues.  The Moonlight Edition maintains the consistency of the original, enhancing as opposed to detracting.  As previously stated, this is a fantastic pop album

✅ Gems 💎: “Future Nostalgia,” “Don’t Start Now,” “Physical,” “Levitating,” “Love Again,” Break My Heart,” “Good in Bed,” “Fever,” “We’re Good,” “Not My Problem” & “Levitating” (Ft. DaBaby)

🎙 Dua Lipa • 💿 Future Nostalgia • 🏷 Warner • 🗓 3.27.20

[📷: Warner]