It is interesting to see the music of today being so vastly different than in previous times. This is a mere example of that. English pop singer Dua Lipa released an album in 2020 that was a throwback to previous musical times, with a modern twist. But is it any good? Let’s find out.

We begin with the title track Future Nostalgia which begins with quirky noises and sounds truly awful, particularly lyrically. The singing sounds autotuned to the nth degree and is a purely rubbish piece. It may be interesting musically, but that is about it. This music here could have been radically rethought, although the ending is rather catchy. Overall, a disappointment.

Next is Don’t Start Now which is more of the same, but this is a bit better than the previous track. It has some piano and Disco sounding instrumentation. A very forgettable track, and just merely a reminder that Pop music has degraded hugely since the end of the previous century. Forgettable.

Cool comes next. It begins with some weird sounds and Dua Lipa singing, which is actually fairly decent sounding, except once again, it sounds autotuned a lot. It is interesting musically, and an improvement on the tracks before it. Still, a better effort, even if it is Pop music trash. Nothing great here, either.

Physical comes along next, which is miserable rubbish music. Honestly, this is the sort of the music that is pushed by music producers today as “cutting edge” when everybody knows it is forgettable. Sadly, this is the case. An awful song, and for the most part, an awful album. The autotuned shouting in this is really bad, along with the music too. Terrible.

Next is Levitating which begins with some more neo-retro sounds, before launching into a fairly ordinary song that is better than previous tracks. Still, there is an obvious feeling that this song is just throwaway, and this ruins the product. Sounds like a load of dollars, and nothing great musically. Teenage pop music that is terrible and has already aged. Bad.

Following is Pretty Please is a terrible piece of music that doesn’t even sound timed correctly. It is an attempt at something different, but is your usual Pop music joke of today. This music deserves only one way to be finished up in, and that is straight into the bin. How does this stuff even get promoted? Terrible, a real joke.

Hallucinate is more Disco flavoured nonsense that isn’t even about drugs. What on earth is this terrible music? Obviously nothing great. The chorus here is okay, but there is an overriding feeling that this is pushed out to sell records, not make great tunes. John Lennon must be rolling in his grave, this is so disappointing. For a three and a half minute pop song, this is truly awful. Avoid.

Love Again begins with some melancholy string sections which are actually quite nice, and are eastern themed. This is a much better piece than anything before it, and sounds better thought out, melodic and poppy. An interesting listen and sounding like a huge improvement on what came before, this is actually listenable. Good work, on this song at least.

Next along is Break My Heart which starts off with a funky bassline, and sounds very good. Dua Lipa sings very well (even autotuned), and sounds terrific at that here. This is a better piece showcasing a better effort. If anything, this album is very patchy. Still, a decent effort and a better one from this album. The vocal harmonies are pretty good here as well.

Following is Good In Bed which begins with a take on Jazz music. Still, it’s a better example of what Dua Lipa does. It’s not really original, nor worthwhile, but good. That is the problem with a lot of postmodern music, a lot of it will not be looked at in retrospect as excellent listening. This album is a very good example of such a thing. The chorus is pretty annoying as well.

Boys Will Be Boys comes next. It is a sort of love song about boys and surrounding interests around it. Not hugely appealing, this is an okay song though. It seems the second half of the album is better than the first half of the album. A lady’s anthem, but aside from that, quite forgettable.

Levitating (feat. Da Baby) is really terrible, and is a repeat of the earlier track on this album, well almost. It is a terrible combination of retro styled sounds and a poor idea for a track. Skip this one if you can, it’s not worth hearing. Fortunately, this is towards the end of the album so we don’t have much more time for this very awful music.

Lastly, we have Fever which has Angele and has an interesting intro. It’s weird sounding, and Angele’s contribution here is welcome, being singing in French. Still, it is not going to go down as a great effort in the history of music, but is short at two and a half minutes long. Sadly, not the best, however.

This is okay for an album, but not good, great or fantastic. Points go to Dua Lipa for creating an interesting soundtrack for the 2020s with a throwback to the past, but it still falls flat in many respects. Recommended only for those who dig Ariana Grande and similar Pop music artists, otherwise, this simply is not worth your time.

Lacking.

5/10