Dua Lipa’s new album, Radical Optimism, was released on Friday. The opportunity for the singer to offer her American fans an explosive show in Time Square, as Shakira did a few weeks earlier to celebrate her new record, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran. “Lack of personality”, “absence of ventilation”, “ambient music tunes”… To everyone’s surprise, the British star’s third disc, expected since last summer, did not make unanimously, unlike its predecessor, Future Nostalgia, which made the planet dance upon its release in March 2020.
Infused with the energy of Dua Lipa’s hometown of London, the album’s eleven tracks embody “the honesty, confidence and freedom of ’90s Britpop,” according to a statement released by the artist. . Supported by the danceable singles Houdini, Training Season and more recently Illusion, the record was written in collaboration with Kevin Parker (better known as Tame Impala), Caroline Aillin, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Danny L. Harle.
The name of the album was suggested to him “by a friend” who introduced him to the term Radical Optimism. “It’s a concept that resonated with me,” explains the British singer in a press release. I was struck by the idea of moving through chaos with grace and feeling like you can weather any storm.” More rebellious and rawer, Dua Lipa “wanted to capture the essence of youth and freedom, to have fun and let things happen, whether good or bad,” she said. confided to the American magazine Attitude.
Like that of Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa’s return to the stage was awaited since July 2023, when the two artists participated in the soundtrack of the film Barbie, the first with What Was I Made For?, a captivating ballad, the second with what quickly became the hit of the summer, the title Dance The Night.
But if the singer is enthusiastic, the criticism is a little less so. The American media Pitchwork, specialized in criticism of independent music, mainly rock, gives the album a score of 6.6/10. He claims that Dua Lipa’s new CD “has a lot of interesting song ideas” but “a surprisingly low success rate.” For its part, Le Journal de Montréal notes a “lack of personality in this string of vitamin-packed pop candies.” “Certain titles could also have been found on the albums of his various contemporaries, whether they are called Ava Max, Kim Petras or Sabrina Carpenter,” concludes the daily.
“Dua Lipa is so relaxed that the whole thing loses energy and disappears behind a strange veneer,” laments Angie Martoccio in the columns of Rolling Stone. Several tracks from the second half of the record take on the air of ambient music, especially when compared to past classics such as “Physical”.”
The French media are rather under the spell. “It’s so danceable, sweet and sunny, it’s like Kylie Minogue,” rejoices Eric Bureau in the columns of Le Parisien. What jumps out at the ears, and seduces, is that Dua Lipa manages to take a step aside with each album. Vogue magazine regrets “the absence of ventilation in an opus which could have afforded to be longer” but is forced to note “that the meeting between Dua Lipa and Tame Impala was rich”. Le Monde is more nuanced, on an album that he considers “cold, in his comfort zone”. Violaine Schütz, editor for Numéro Magazine, is not thrilled either. “Dua Lipa preferred to be more pop than radical,” she says. And we don’t find the “psychedelic and pop homage to British rave culture” promised by the singer.”
No immediate success in the rankings for Radical Optismism, unlike its predecessor, Future Nostalgia, which made the planet dance upon its release in March 2020. This lack of enthusiasm from the public and the media will not prevent Dua Lipa from come and defend his project on stage this summer. The singer has announced two already sold-out concerts at the Arènes de Nîmes, on June 12 and 13. She also appears alongside Coldplay, SZA and Shania Twain, headlining the British festival Glastonburry, which will take place from June 26 to 30. “I’ve dreamed of this moment my whole life,” she exclaimed on Instagram when the “line-up” was announced.