“Physical”

Plenty of current pop stars mine the chintzy sounds of the ’80s for inspiration, but none have concentrated the motif quite like Dua Lipa. The title of the UK singer’s upcoming second LP, Future Nostalgia, underlines her commitment; standout lead single “Don’t Start Now” wears flashy synths and a disco bassline as chunky as the era’s geometric jewelry. “Physical,” the album’s latest single, is her most obvious pastiche yet, setting a chugging, bordering-on-cheesy synth line beneath a melody seemingly descended from Patti LaBelle’s “New Attitude.” Of course, Olivia Newton-John’s eternal “Physical” remains the true guiding light for the track’s peppy, Jazzercise energy, but Lipa’s song brushes past simplistic, imitative devotion. She sings about feeling “diamond rich” with her new lover, so keyed up on the honeymoon phase that she can’t sleep. The vigorous chorus is as fit for the gym as the dancefloor. “Lights out, follow the noise,” she snarls in her smoky lower register. “Baby, keep on dancing like you ain’t got a choice.” It’s polite of her to consider there was any other option.