Released: May 3
Pop superstar Dua Lipa heads down fresh, sun-soaked avenues as she returns with her third studio album, ‘Radical Optimism’.
The follow-up to 2020’s ‘Future Nostalgia’ – a game-changing album for Lipa, which saw her lean into classic pop and disco elements with influences of dance and electronic music – is billed as an homage to ’90s Britpop, with influences of psychedelic pop and the UK’s rave culture.
“A couple years ago, a friend introduced me to the term ‘Radical Optimism’,” she says. “It’s a concept that resonated with me, and I became more curious as I started to play with it and weave it into my life. It struck me – the idea of going through chaos gracefully and feeling like you can weather any storm.
“At the same time, I found myself looking through the music history of psychedelia, trip hop, and Britpop. It has always felt so confidently optimistic to me, and that honesty and attitude is a feeling I took into my recording sessions.”
Lead single, Houdini, is among the stronger material on offer, with co-production and instrumentation from Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, along with production from Danny L Harle and writing from Caroline Ailin and Tobias Jesso, Jr. It’s a hypnotic introduction to the album which, across 11 songs, reinforces Lipa’s position as one of today’s pop greats – even if it doesn’t always live up to expectations.
Opening number, End Of An Era, taps into the aforementioned psychedelia and is an invitation to join the hitmaker in her world of ‘Radical Optimism’, but the bulk of the album is more European pop sounding than is perhaps intended, with the pre-release singles Training Season and Illusion both strong showings, yet not so obviously in line with the Massive Attack and Primal Scream influences she cites.
That’s not to say it’s not a strong pop record and songs like the bittersweet make-or-break These Walls – which sees Lipa approaching the end of her relationship – and Falling Forever, led by a powerful vocal and irresistible hook, see her at her best. Anything For Love, which opens with chatter in the studio and builds from a piano ballad to full production, and French Exit, with its raw, driving percussion, both point towards the sounds she sought to capture.
But come closing number, Happy For You – another breakup song that opens with birdsong and talks about moving on – it becomes clear that, at its core, Lipa’s relationship is the central character on this record and, instead of letting loose and diving into new waters, ‘Radical Optimism’ is at its best when Lipa sticks to what she knows best: solid dance pop.
