On the surface, this album may look more like a difficult university examination than the latest popular music project by an artist whose previous hit was a collaboration with a global pop star. Broken into 4 different sections and voiced in 13 languages, we have a head-spinning classical-tinged work that delves into feminine mystique, religious ascent, and corporal change, often by way of the perspective of various women saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic treated with grounded openness elsewhere—soars heavenward here, supported by the constant presence of a full orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning composer among a long list of contributors. The pure ambition by itself renders the efforts of contemporary artists appear quite modest.
Transcending Academic Exercise
That this album manages to escape dry intellectual posturing is nearly a miracle, and full credit going to the artist. Although this is not the first time project to alchemize historical sounds and the present, the ambitions are far higher here, with the tightrope walk far more precarious. The element that truly raises this fourth release, beyond its complex melodies, rich compositions, and inherent theatricality, is an essential sense of fun. Similar to the iconic artist at her peak, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. Even when she's tearing hearts apart, the listener still desire to stay right there for the journey.
A Signature Example of Exuberance
This playful energy comes forth clearly during the stirring piano-led ballad about a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy for more than four minutes. Suddenly, everything drops silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous giggle and a declaration prior to a hilariously over-the-top orchestral crescendo thuds down with cartoonish impact. The track immediately segues into the wild track featuring galloping orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a surprise role from the artist Björk.
"The charm with this album lies in you never exactly understand—or even want to predict—where it will go next."
Nearly every song concludes in a totally distinct place from where it began. A track explores the transient trappings of fame over a delicate orchestration only to collapsing into digital cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's earlier trap-infused style starts off moody and sinister, with menacing beats, until fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Balance Of Experiment & Accessibility
A key achievement of Lux is straddling the line between radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. It is little surprise that the album has become the artist's highest-charting work to crack the Top 5 of major markets: at its core a suite of utterly catchy hits. One track performed entirely in English swells on a refrain that seems to collect increasingly infectious melodies while it spins skyward. That feat is echoed on another powerful ballad that expands and constricts, intertwining layered tunes as a complex weave.
- A dance-infused song charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it aligns the pop culture honesty of contemporary heartbreak songs, lambasting a former lover labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the singing have a sharp smile, like a fairy-tale figure concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
This album represents pop on a maximalist level, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art amid of impending AI-generated blankness. It rejects solipsism for sublime transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its own built-in excess. This is an abundant source of buried treasure that takes time to fully explore but never feels like hard work. While some big pop albums of the year seemed like a meager meal, Lux is a lavish feast at which the guests at it, perhaps tipsy on holy wine, flutter between conversations about historical saints, the profound sensation of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about hopeless men. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from music's truly restlessly inventive practitioner.
