Future Nostalgia (song)

"Future Nostalgia" was written by Lipa, alongside Clarence Coffee Jr of The Monsters & Strangerz and the song's producer Jeff Bhasker.[1] They worked on the song in Los Angeles.[2] Before writing it, Lipa and Bhasker had been experimenting in the studio for a few days to get a feel of how they wanted to work together and for Lipa to play Bhasker some of the music she had been working on. The two had not collaborated previously, although Lipa was a fan of Bhasker due to his previous work with other artists. While leaving the studio one day, Lipa accidentally texted Bhasker complimenting him and writing that she wanted to do some sessions together, thinking she was texting her manager. When they went back into the studio together, Lipa and Bhasker began talking about architecture and being overly confident, as well as having a laugh over their text conversation.[3]

After discussing writing a song together, Lipa told Bhasker the name of her album, Future Nostalgia. Bhasker then suggested them attempting to write a title track. Lipa wanted to create something bold, so Bhasker began playing his instruments with very experimental sounds and she began writing down lyrics. After they had written half of "Future Nostalgia", the two of them got writer's block, which lead to Lipa calling Clarence Coffee Jr to help them.[3] They wanted it to be "playful and fun" and not taking themselves too seriously.[2] That day the three of them came up with the line "I know you ain't used to a female alpha."[3] Lipa decided on placing the song as Future Nostalgia's opening track due to its fearlessness.[4]

"Future Nostalgia" is an electro-funk and synth-pop song,[5][7][8] with disco, hip hop, house and 1980s elements.[9][10][11] It is composed in ⁴
₄ time in the key of D minor, with a tempo of 116 beats per minute.[12][13] The track has a structure of verse, chorus, post-chorus, verse, chorus, post-chorus, bridge, chorus. The verses use solely the D5 chord, while the track follows a Dm–C–G/B–C/G chord progression everywhere else.[14] "Future Nostalgia" has a modern electronic production,[15] consisting of 1980s-funk and grunge bass-popping,[16] electroclash synths,[17] tinkering keys,[18] a jazz piano progression,[19] 1980s disco beats,[6][20] and electro-funk instrumentals.[21]

The song opens with vintage synth plinks and drum machines, while the bridge features rhythm guitar.[22] Transitions are handled by using a piano.[21] Lipa's vocals span from C₄ to D₅, and she makes use of spoken word verses as well as falsetto in the chorus.[5][7][14] The track features vocodered backing vocals, courtesy of Bhasker, where he repeats the title of the song.[16][23] In the song, Lipa name-drops American architect John Lautner as well as Bhasker.[17][24] The Lautner name drop is a symbol for Lipa's desire to make her music sound futuristic and retro at the same time.[25] Described by Lipa as a "feeling of empowerment and sassiness," the song's lyrics deal with the themes of feminism and self-reflection.[4][6][26] Maura Johnston of Entertainment Weekly wrote about the lyrics, stating that they are about "changing the game," while Nylon's Allison Stubblebine interpreted them as "Getting Shit Done in 2020."[20][27]

In November 2019, Lipa released "Don't Start Now", the lead single from her second studio album Future Nostalgia. Whilst promoting the song, Lipa confirmed the release of the title track, as well as confirming its music video release and promotional single status.[28] "Future Nostalgia" was then officially announced on 12 December 2019.[29] It premiered as the first and only promotional single from Future Nostalgia on 13 December 2019 at midnight local time in every region, being released in order to keep Lipa's fans engaged until 2020.[2][30]

An accompanying lyric video was released that premiered through YouTube on 16 December 2019. It is set in a retro 1960s house that is on a small lake. In the video, Lipa dances and drinks alcohol around the house, wearing a white shirt and underwear, as well as hitting wine glasses with a golf club on the roof. She is also seen wearing a pantsuit and dancing in front of a mirror.[31] "Future Nostalgia" was later included as the first track on Future Nostalgia, released on 27 March 2020.[4] A remix by Joe Goddard appears on Lipa and The Blessed Madonna's DJ Mix-crafted remix album, Club Future Nostalgia, released 28 August 2020,[32] with the original remix being released on 11 September 2020.[33] The remix makes use of Hot Chip-style synths and Daft Punk-inspired whirrs, that is reminiscent of a 3am Glastonbury DJ set.[34]

Trey Alston from MTV gave the song a positive review, stating that it is "the perfect balance of the past and what lies ahead." He continued, describing the song as "completely bonkers yet irresistible" and an "explosive splash of tomorrow-pop."[11] Writing for Idolator, Mike Nied described the production as "funky and forward-thinking," the lyrics as "self-assured," and called the song as a whole a "creative risk."[35] In a separate Idolator review, Nied stated that the song has a "funky soundscape," while calling it the most experimental track from the album.[18] Stubblebine wrote that "[Lipa's] snarky, knows her worth, and is ensuring the dance party will rage on" and categorized the song's tone as "confident."[20] Robin Murray of Clash called the song "bold" and "colourful" as well as writing "there's an 80s bounce in its synth nostalgia, channelling amid the glitz of Los Angeles."[36] In The Guardian, Laura Snapes called Lipa's John Lautner name-drop too "arcane" for a pop song.[24] Louise Bruton of The Irish Times called the song "intentionally disjointed," while Attitude's Thomas Stichbury labelled it "thudding."[37][38] Billboard's Bianca Gracie categorized Lipa's vocals as "cocky" and "purring" as well as writing "it's a flirty wink [...] that reflects the singer's confident nature."[5]

Zoya Raza-Sheikh of Clash called "Future Nostalgia" "ultra-confident."[39] Nick Malone for PopMatters wrote a positive review, saying Lipa "masters a tricky balancing act between sassy and irritating on its talk-rapped verses," and that she "comes off stylish and light-hearted."[40] The Ringer's Rob Harvilla described the song as "filthy and fizzy" as well as praising its production and lyrics.[7] Writing for Slant Magazine, Sal Cinquemani criticized "Future Nostalgia", writing that Lipa "falls flat" with her vocals, but praised the song's production. He went on to compare it to the music of Teena Marie and Kesha.[41] Albumism's Quentin Harrison listed the song as a notable track from Future Nostalgia.[42] For the Gay Times, Daniel Megarry praised the track's post-chorus, calling it "one of the album's finest moments."[43] For Business Insider, Courteney Larocca called the song "danceable," "electric," and "retro," while Callie Ahlgrim, also of Business Insider, stated that it is a "strong album opener." Ahlgrim went on to state that the song "definitely doesn't work as a single" but it is "a bold statement of purpose" and "a sharp combination of cheeky, challenging, and confident."[44] In Gigwise, Jordan Emery categorized Lipa as confident, while he called the song's lyrics "cheeky" and "slightly off-kilter."[45] In Us Weekly, Nicholas Hautman stated that Lipa "brings the sass" as well as calling the song's chorus "infectious."[46]

For Rolling Stone, Emily Zemler called the song "buoyant" and "catchy" as well as stating that Lipa is "playing up her strengths."[2] In a separate Rolling Stone review, Brittany Spanos wrote that the song has "nonsensical but smartly delivered one-liners" and compared it to the music of Daft Punk.[47] Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic compared the song to the works of Timbaland, while Stereogum editor Tom Breihan compared it sonically to Random Access Memories (2013) by Daft Punk.[10][16] Writers of both DIY and Variety compared it to Prince.[17][48] In a mixed review for Under the Radar, Conrad Duncan wrote that the song has a "glorious" backing and one of Lipa's "sharpest" hooks. He went on to say that the verses are "clunky and unconvincing" as well as comparing the song to Girls Aloud.[49] Joe Muggs of The Arts Desk compared Lipa's vocal style to that of Neneh Cherry.[50] In musicOMH, Nick Smith called the song "confident and brassy," and went on to compare it to "Daydream in Blue" by I Monster.[8] Gabbie Nirenburg of No Ripcord compared the song to the music of Janet Jackson with the lyrics and to The ArchAndroid by Janelle Monae with the production.[51] Jonathan Wright of God Is in the TV compared the song to Róisín Murphy.[52] Writing for British GQ, David Levesley described it as "if Prince wrote for The Pointer Sisters."[53] Popjustice ranked "Future Nostalgia" as the 20th best song of 2019,[54] while the song appeared on Vulture's Justin Curto's "Best Dance and Disco Songs of 2020" list, with him praising Lipa's "confident commitment" to the disco style and calling the song "polished and convincing."[55] Rob Copsey of the Official Charts Company placed it as one of 2020's most underrated songs.[56]

After its release, "Future Nostalgia" reached number 11 on the NZ Hot Singles chart and 63 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart,[57][58] as well as peaking at number 35, 83, and 58 on the Hungary Single Top 100, Irish Singles Chart, and Scottish Singles Chart respectively.[59][60][61] After the release of Future Nostalgia, the song entered official charts in Australia,[62] Croatia,[63] Greece,[64] Lithuania,[65] Portugal,[66] Slovakia,[67] and Spain.[68]

Credits adapted from Tidal and the liner notes of Future Nostalgia.[70][1]

Recording

• Mastered at Sterling Sound (Edgewater, New Jersey)

Personnel

• Audio on YouTube
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
• Joe Goddard Remix Audio on YouTube