It has been about four years since Dua Lipa released her last album, Future Nostalgia, which featured the hit single “Levitating” and cemented her as one of the leaders of a new generation of pop stars. Dua Lipa provided an overall solid album Radical Optimism which is mixed with old familiar sounds from Future Nostalgia, as well as some new sounding songs to showcase a fresh side of her, as well as her growth as an artist. 

Dua Lipa focused on the theme of love with her new record. There are many different parts of love and relationships she sings about. On the opening track, “End of an Era,” she sings about a new part of her love life marking the start of something new. No more alone time or searching for someone to love. During the track, “Anything For Love,” she sings about the thoughts when getting in a new relationship, or simply just being in one. Many people who have been in relationships have felt the same way, where maybe things aren’t as good as they used to be but they keep trying until eventually parting ways. Dua notes she wants someone in it for the long run and wants to keep loving her forever.

“And I’m not interested in a love that gives up so easily

I want a love that’s set on keeping me”  and 

“We’re all so scared of forever

And no one promises always

We’re not perfect together

That means we’ve gotta part ways

Remember when we used to do anything for love? 

Another stage of a relationship is seeing your old partner move on, now happy with someone else. Lipa addresses this on “Happy For You.” Seeing an ex with someone new and smiling again can be very emotional for anyone who has been in that situation. She comes to a realization how much she loved her ex and although they moved on she is happy for them. “

Now I know everything was real

I’m not mad, I’m not hurt

You got everything you deserve

I must’ve loved you more than I ever knew

I’m happy for you” 

One thing that I loved about Future Nostalgia was the high energy psychedelic pop sounds. Many songs made me just want to get up, move around and dance. I have that same feeling for Radical Optimism. This is a fun way to sing about the good and bad parts of relationships. The album itself has also come out in time for the summer and it gives out a solid pop album to rock out to on the boat or rolling the windows down on a long car ride. 

With that being said, I would like to note the production and overall vocals. One track where the production is top notch is the song “Houdini.” During many parts of the song, we get an electric synth in the background that really shines towards the end of the song, making it sound like one of her classic psychedelic pop sounds. One song that surprised me was ‘Anything For Love.” The beginning of the song makes listeners think it would be slow, with a piano playing. Then suddenly the beat drops and Lipa shines with her storytelling and vocals. It is probably my favorite song on the album. “Illusion” is another example of stellar production. For starters, the song has such a high tempo beat, which even has a part where you can clap, as displayed in the music video. But there is more than that to this song. At the end, we get more electronic synths setting the stage to release your energy and just move.

Overall, I felt that Radical Optimism was fresh and full of sounds and production styles that are new to her fans. Her overall songwriting seems more mature, which helps listeners relate. As a fan of hers, I feel like it is an overall good album to listen to when you have felt the same feelings she writes about, but do not want to wallow and be down in the dumps. It is an album for when you want to feel energized about new beginnings and relationships. There is no slowing down for Dua Lipa anytime soon. As she continues to put out new music, you can always expect something fun and full of different flavors of pop.