Perhaps it’s unfair of me to look for that one special thing whenever I listen to pop albums. Perhaps it’s unfair that I listen to pop albums and immediately think of how disposable they can be, forgetting that there are songs (and records) that bring something interesting, not necessarily new, to the table. When I first heard Dua Lipa, I thought of how compelling she sounds: her raspy-yet-smooth voice is capable of selling the bleep out of the most generic tracks. Not that her eponymous debut is filled with just that – or, perhaps, she’s just really able to elevate it. I enjoyed some of her tracks in the lead-up to this album’s release, but then my mindset towards pop records kicks in and, while listening to this album in sequence, I feel a little worn out by the end. (Interesting how she holds “Homesick”, a ballad co-penned and co-performed with Chris Martin, to the very end, though. A tonic too late, but a sign of things to come.) But the record carries a spunk that establishes Dua nicely, and should see her through to the next record. There will be one – but what will she do then? [NB] | 3/5
