Bow To Your Queen: A Preview of Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism

My grandmother would’ve been intimidated by a woman like this.

It is a well known fact that Dua Lipa is the world’s greatest popstar. She just is. The voice, the production, the hooks, the costumes, the choreography….I just don’t know what to say. I really enjoy the music of Dua Lipa. I genuinely think she’s an underrated artist and that’s saying something because she’s one of the biggest stars on the planet.

Her new record Radical Optimism is coming out Thursday(?) at midnight (so technically Friday??). I intent to listen to it with my emotional support bottle of gin and an additional bottle of Wild Turkey to emotionally support my gin. The record is heavily produced by Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, which means it’s going to probably have the best production of any record this year, especially in the pop landscape. It’s probably going to be ripped off heavily. Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff are gonna make a whole album based off the opening 15 seconds of “Houdini.” “Yet another synth bass line.” I’ll be writing in a few months. I digress.

Today we’re looking at the first 3 songs released off the record. Nothing less, nothing more (except the last 2 paragraphs above this one.)

Houdini

(Note: For Dua Lipa, we use the bold Paragraph 1 font and size because her music is very important. )

This song was the first song off the record, and I’m not gonna lie. At first I merely thought it was merely a good song. But now I think it’s a great song. The opening off keyish bass line confused me for a few days before it clicked and now I think it’s easily one of the best beats in recent pop. The synths that come in and guide you into the song are a great contemporary touch that feels like a reference to the faux-80s resurgence without that being it’s entire function. They also really give the chorus some urgency. They’re like a contrail to let us know that Dua Lipa is descending. Probably from Heaven.

The songwriting here is just good old classic pop. She comes and she goes. Catch her or she goes Houdini. It’s simple but precise. Memorable, but not cluttered. She doesn’t care about whether people use typewriters, and she doesn’t date golden retrievers. Dua Lipa has no time for that tom foolery. She’s at the club and she sees you. She’s waiting for you to make a move….but you’re cooked. It’s Dua Lipa. She comes and she goes and you have a narrow window of opportunity before she goes Houdini.

Training Season

The problem with trying to review Dua Lipa is that there’s nothing new to say. The production is brilliant, the melodies are sticky, hooks hooky. Once again, the lyrics are simple, to the point, but Dua Lipa is making a point here. She’s done with men who need her to mother them. Training season is over. Dua is frank here. She’s done with our bullshit.

I really like this track. It feels a little subdued for a pop single, but underneath it’s more understated, stripped down vibe, there’s a ton of super catchy melodies and brilliant hooks here. This is great songwriting and equally great arrangement. It’s also kind of unique, having this sort of “pre-chorus chorus” that leads into an actual pre-chorus that then leads back into a modified version of the pre-chorus chorus. It’s elegant and sleek. I have no idea who wrote what specifically, but that particular structure feels very Tame Impala inspired.

In general this track is very multi-faceted and shows a good grasp on dynamics. The pace and tempo convey a quiet urgency that swells into the chorus, a blunt outburst that training season is indeed over. This is great pop song and like “Houdini”, it feels very innovative and slick, like a new sports car.

Illusion

“Illusion” is the most recent single from Radical Optimisms. It’s a grower. I first I was a little underwhelmed, but now I think it’s probably the second best of the three singles. It starts off with this weird bell-synth sound and then jumps right in, after a zippy bass note of course. “I’ve been known to spot a red flag” Dua Lipa notes, over some classic pop keys. Then we segue to this weird verse/pre-chorus thing in a higher pitch and the beat gets some more layers.

Again, I really like this beat. It’s less up front than the other two singles, but it’s undoubtedly great production. The beat is neither too over layered, nor is it paper thin. Kevin Parker is in his bag as as arranger. There’s even this weird synth solo that works wayyyy too well. And then the bell. Ohh the bell. There’s this bell that plays during the chorus, sitting on top of the other sounds in the mix. It’s genuinely menacing and highlights the musical complexity of this track, which, similar to the subject matter, feels very shaky and hard to pin down. The harmonic movement is intriguing and catchy.

Lyrically the song is Dua Lipa at the top of her romantic prowess, furiously denouncing a potential lover who thinks he can trick her with his rizz. “It’s an illusion, who you really think that you confusing?” she haughtily declares. It’s much catchier than it sounds here, believe me.

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So there we have it. Three songs off this exciting new record down, 8 more to go, and they’re coming out this Friday at midnight (May 3rd). Personally, I can’t wait.