搬運自：微信公眾號【評論搬一堆】（在原文基礎(chǔ)上添加了英語原文與排版調(diào)整）

翻譯：Lynn Liu

審譯：Tyler Smith

排版：Ryan-Chopin

The ascendant singer’s star-making second album is a collection of sophisticated, hard-bodied pop-funk that gives way to slick, Kylie Minogue-inspired disco.

這位新星歌手的第二張專輯是一張復(fù)雜、硬朗的流行放克集合，它卻始終被籠罩在華而不實的Kylie Minogue風(fēng)格迪斯科舞曲光環(huán)下。

No 2017 pop release had legs like Dua Lipa’s self-titled debut. “New Rules,” the know-your-worth anthem that became her breakout, was actually the sixth single from an album delayed eight months past its original release date. While?Dua Lipa’s long shelf life built the British and Kosovar Albanian singer’s fanbase, the trickle of new music she appeared on in the interim—a major hit with Calvin Harris’ “One Kiss,” the throwback house of Diplo and Mark Ronson’s “Electricity”—maintained her momentum. Three years later, the Dua Lipa release schedule looks very different: Her second record,?Future Nostalgia, arrives a week early, ostensibly because of the coronavirus pandemic, though maybe because fans had already leaked it.

2017年的流行音樂作品中，沒有哪一張能像Dua Lipa的首張同名專輯中的歌曲一樣，讓人眼前一亮。"New Rules"這首稱贊自我價值的歌曲成為了她的突破之作，實際上它是這張專輯中的第六首單曲，這張專輯比原定的發(fā)行日期推遲了八個月。雖然《Dua Lipa》的漫長保質(zhì)期為這位英國和科索沃阿爾巴尼亞裔歌手建立了粉絲群，但她在這期間發(fā)行的新音樂卻如雨后春筍般涌現(xiàn)——?與Calvin Harris合作的熱單的 "One Kiss"、與Diplo和Mark Ronson合作的throwback house風(fēng)格單曲?"Electricity"，都維持了她的勢頭。三年后的今天，Dua Lipa歌曲的發(fā)行時間看起來很不一樣：她的第二張唱片《Future Nostalgia》提前一周發(fā)行，表面上看是由于新冠肺炎的流行，但也許是因為歌迷們已經(jīng)把它泄露了。

Anchored by lead single “Don’t Start Now,” an instant staple of pop DJs and barre classes,?Future Nostalgia?is a collection of sophisticated, hard-bodied pop-funk that gradually gives way to slick, Kylie Minogue-inspired disco. Capitalizing on a love of ’80s pop and ’90s club culture, Lipa and a team of career producers (Stephen “Koz” Kozmeniuk, Ian Kirkpatrick, Stuart Price, Jeff Bhasker) tunnel deeper into retro-pop revival, a flashy dancefloor timewarp aimed at the type of pop fan who can’t hear Olivia Newton-John’s original 1981 hit “Physical” without imagining what it might sound like with the string sample from “Hung Up” chopped and layered on top.?Future Nostalgia?sounds like three?Madonna?eras at once, like?Giorgio Moroder?making blog house. Like all classic dance music, it’s more concerned with the thrill of new passion than with what happens after the sun rises.

主打單曲?"Don't Start Now "是流行DJ和健身班的專屬，它奠定了整張專輯的基調(diào)。這張專輯是一張復(fù)雜、硬朗的流行放克集合，它卻始終被籠罩在華而不實的Kylie Minogue風(fēng)格迪斯科舞曲光環(huán)下。Lipa和一群音樂制作人（Stephen "Koz Koz" Kozmeniuk、Ian Kirkpatrick、Stuart Price、Jeff Bhasker）出于對80年代流行樂和90年代舞廳文化的熱愛，深入到復(fù)古流行樂的復(fù)興中，專輯所營造的閃爍的舞池時光主要針對那些聽過Olivia Newton-John的1981年熱單"Physical "的歌迷，他們無法想象在聽到麥當(dāng)娜的"Hung Up "中的音色樣本被揉碎后的樣子?！禙uture Nostalgia》聽起來就像麥當(dāng)娜的三個時代同時存在，就像Giorgio Moroder制作部落格之家一樣。就像所有經(jīng)典的舞曲一樣，它更關(guān)注新的激情的快感，而不是日出后發(fā)生的事情。

At 24, Lipa has been working towards this moment for almost 10 years, and her sights are set higher still. A false start in modeling impressed the importance of going where you’re wanted; in Lipa’s case, to Warner Records, who sought a female pop icon to compete with the Rihannas and Lady Gagas of the world. She leveraged her talent as a songwriter, developing an early?Dua Lipa?single, “Hotter Than Hell,” in the first session with her prospective management team. Her sly swagger and fashion-plate style gave her the presence of someone who’d achieved diva status already. “I’m a bit too far down the line for anyone to try and tell me something,” she?said?of her creative autonomy in 2017, even before the release of her first record.

24歲的Lipa已經(jīng)為這一刻努力了近10年，她的目光仍然定格在更高的地方。虛假的模特生涯讓她意識到了心之所向的重要性；對Lipa來說，她的目標(biāo)是華納唱片公司，因為華納唱片公司正在尋找一位女性流行樂壇的偶像，能與Rihannas和Lady Gaga一爭高下。她利用她作為歌曲創(chuàng)作者的天賦，在與她的潛在管理團隊的第一場會議上，開發(fā)了《Dua Lipa》的早期單曲 "Hotter Than Hell"。她那狡猾的聲張和時尚的風(fēng)格，給人一種老娘就是diva的感覺。"我有點太過過分了，沒有人可以告訴我。"她在2017年說起自己的創(chuàng)作自主權(quán)，甚至在她的第一張唱片發(fā)行之前，她就說過。

But where many of pop’s most recent stars are emphatically emotionally available, Lipa radiates blithe coolness. Her brand is style, competence, taste—this is, in a way perhaps not obvious to those who actually remember the ’80s, entirely tasteful pop music—and the sultry low voice that makes her the star of even a?middling Martin Garrix collab.?Future Nostalgia?is nonstop, no ballads; for 10 tracks, the closest it comes to feeling vulnerable or revealing is “Pretty Please,” a plea for stress-relief sex with an ultra-thick bassline. When Lipa proclaims, “You got me losing all my cool/’Cause I’m burning up on you,” on the?Tove Lo?cowrite “Cool,” she rhymes it with, “In control of what I do.”

但是，在許多流行樂壇的新星都在強調(diào)情感上的可用之處，Lipa卻散發(fā)著淡然的冷酷。她的品牌是風(fēng)格、能力和品味——對于那些真正記得80年代的人來說，這也許并不明顯，但高逼格的流行音樂和她那悶騷而低沉的嗓音，讓她成為了Martin Garrix的合作伙伴。《Future Nostalgia》是沒有間斷的，沒有一首抒情歌；在10首曲目中，最讓人感到脆弱或透露真情的是 "Pretty Please"，這是一首緩解壓力的重低音歌曲。Lipa在與Tove Lo共同創(chuàng)作的單曲“Cool”中唱到，" You got me losing all my cool/’Cause I’m burning up on you（你讓我不再裝酷/因為我也為你燃起了愛火）"時，她用 In control of what I do （愛的火苗控制了我的心智）"來押韻。

It’s Lipa’s strongest stance: all-in on self-determination. The thrill of?Future Nostalgia—the title itself a claim to modern classic status—is in hearing her tailor the retro-funk form to suit her commanding attitude. “No matter what you do, I’m gonna get it without ya/I know you ain’t used to a female alpha,” she proclaims on the title track. Which is why it’s a disappointment when the album’s confident strut falters, first with the “bad/mad/sad” rhymes on “Good in Bed” and finally with the awareness anthem “Boys Will Be Boys,” a funk-free flip of the sexist trope (“…but girls will be women”). Layered choral arrangements soften the ultra-literal writing, but as a closer, it brings the party to a screeching halt, with a serious tone that feels at odds with everything preceding it. What should be heartfelt and meaningful—a song to contrast Lipa’s aloofness and demonstrate her range—instead undermines what?Future Nostalgia?does best: proud, flawless bravado.

Lipa立場堅定：全身心地投入到自我決定中。《Future Nostalgia》的快感——專輯名本身就是對現(xiàn)代經(jīng)典地位的宣稱——就在于聽到她用復(fù)古放克的形式來適應(yīng)她主宰的態(tài)度。"No matter what you do, I’m gonna get it without ya/I know you ain’t used to a female alpha（無論你能做什么，沒有你我一樣可以辦到，我知道你還不習(xí)慣我女強人的形象）"她在標(biāo)題曲目中宣稱。這就是為什么當(dāng)專輯自信的步伐蹣跚時令人失望的原因，首先是?"bad/mad/sad"在“Good in Bed”的押韻，以及最后的意識贊歌?"Boys Will Be Boys "，這首歌節(jié)奏自由，是對性別歧視的暗喻（".........但女孩們會成長為堅強的女性"）。層層疊疊的合唱編曲軟化了極度抒情的文字，但在接近尾聲的時候，它卻讓派對戛然而止，嚴(yán)肅的基調(diào)讓人感覺到與前面的一切都格格不入。這首歌發(fā)自肺腑，意義非凡——它對比了Lipa的高傲和也展示她的音域，但卻破壞了《Future Nostalgia》最大的特點：驕傲卻完美的虛張聲勢。