Music Review: Dua Lipa’s ‘Radical Optimism’ is controlled dance pop

NEW YORK — In the chorus of “Whatcha Doing,” the fifth track on Dua Lipa’s latest album, she sings: “But if control is my religion / And I’m headed for collision / Lost my 20/20 vision,” referencing the unexpected pull of a new partner. Lipa, 28, won the Grammy for best new artist in 2019, after a four-year stretch that saw her release a debut album to critical and commercial success and then emerge as a radio mainstay with the supremely catchy single “New Rules.” But it was 2020’s “Future Nostalgia” that solidified Lipa’s place in pop music: She was not only a vocal force, but a proven hitmaker. “Radical Optimism” has, in some ways, already pulled its weight — largely because the tracks released ahead of the album — “Houdini,” “Illusion” and “Training Season” — have the classic Lipa hooks that first drove her rise, making for easy pop listening: “Catch me or I go Houdini” — nice — “you think I’m gonna fall for an illusion” — no — “training season’s over” — got it. In that sense, there’s a controlled familiarity to “Radical Optimism” — one that Lipa is clearly capable of harnessing to coax listeners into her commanding beats, and into a dance. In others, it muddies the thematic vision of “Radical Optimism” that Lipa and the album are pushing — which might be stronger told with a fresh pop dialect.