Dua Lipa has just released her long-awaited third album. ‘Radical Optimism’ is not that “radical” album that anticipated the confirmation of Tame Impala and Danny L. Harle in the role of producers, much less the forceful sound of ‘Houdini’, but the repertoire includes songs as vindictive as the one It has been chosen to serve as a “focus track” in the week of the album’s release.
While the dancefloor ‘Illusion’ has not finished dying on the charts – in the United Kingdom it has just risen to 16th place on the official list, while on Spotify it hovers around the top 50 globally – ‘These Walls’ has every chance of becoming the fourth single from the album. It’s today’s Song Of The Day.
‘These Walls’ represents the ‘optimistic’ side of ‘Radical Optimism’. Not in the spiritual sense – that description goes to ‘Happy for You’ – but in the luminosity that the production radiates. Instead of funk bass and disco beats, ‘These Walls’ opts for a light pop-rock sound that seems inspired by the work of Texas or the Cardigans. Drums, acoustic guitars and even the electric guitar “pedal steel” effect now accompany Dua Lipa.
Due to its organic sound, it is surprising that ‘These Walls’ has not been one of the songs from ‘Radical Optimism’ that Dua Lipa has chosen to promote the album live these days, first on Saturday Night Live and, later, in a free live show in Times Square.
‘These Walls’ will be known in Dua Lipa’s repertoire for the phrase in its chorus “if these walls could talk, they would tell us to break up.” In ‘These Walls’, Dua faces the harsh reality of a romantic relationship cut short by differences and lack of communication. But, although she is clear about it, she does not want to be the one to take the step: “I don’t want to be the one to break up,” he sings.
