Dua Lipa’s ‘Houdini’ hints at an era you won’t want to escape from

Over the last few years, Dua Lipa has dominated the dancefloor. Her 2020 album ‘Future Nostalgia’ had us dreaming of sweaty spaces and pushing the furniture to the side to shimmy our way through endless lockdowns. The handful of tracks we’ve had from the pop sensation since have followed suit – from ‘Sweetest Pie’, her superstar collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion, the imaginative, clubby team-up with Elton John on ‘Cold Heart’, and her disco-tinged Barbie soundtrack contribution, ‘Dance The Night’.

In the music video for the latter, a gleaming disco ball falls to the floor of the pink set and smashes into a heap of sparkling debris. Barbie OST producer Mark Ronson has already told us that wasn’t just a bit of drama to liven up the visual, but a big hint that Lipa is entering a new era. Album three – due for release sometime in 2024 – will move away from the disco grooves of ‘Future Nostalgia’ and into the territory of “1970s-era psychedelia”, as Dua told the New York Times earlier this year.

‘Houdini’, the first taste of that hotly-anticipated next LP, doesn’t ditch the Studio 54-ready sound entirely. As the song enters its final throes, a glittering synth arpeggio (which has producer Kevin Parker written all over it) takes centre stage and transports us right back beneath the strobing lights and smoke machines of discos past. It’s the briefest interlude, but enough to make the single feel like a cohesive next step from when we last heard Lipa in album mode.

That’s not to say the rest of ‘Houdini’ is a mind-boggling curveball. Sonically, it might occupy a slightly different space from the star’s second album, but there’s nothing too leftfield here (yet). The track rides on a muddy, intricate bassline and wiry keys and ends on a fuzz-laden riff, both of which possess a groove of their own but also add a bit of grit to Lipa’s irresistible gleam. Just as on ‘Future Nostalgia’, the magic here lies in how she ties her inspirations together with her own pop DNA and makes it all sound effortless.

While she might be switching up her sonic palette, there’s one thing you can rely on Dua to be consistent with – giving us confidence-filled bops that help us unlock the best versions of ourselves, even if just for three minutes. Here, our returning pop queen is laying down a challenge to a potential suitor, but it’s easy to transpose the message to whatever situation you’re facing. Dua’s dare? Carpe that diem, make the most of the moment, or watch her leave you in the dust as she moves on to the next. “It’s your moment, baby / Don’t let it slip,” she encourages early on, before dropping a mega warning in the instantly memorable chorus: “I’m not here for long / Catch me or I go, Houdini.”

Recently, Lipa was rumoured to be one of the headliners at Glastonbury 2024 – a booking that would take her to the next level of an already glittering career. ‘Houdini’ might not quite feel like a true Pyramid Stage-sized anthem, but it could very easily unite a festival field for a boogie under the moonlight. In the meantime, though, it’s more than enough to get us excited for the undoubtedly massive moves Dua will make next.

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