At first glance, Lux might appear more like a difficult university examination rather than the latest popular music record from an artist who just had a previous single featured a global pop icon. Divided across 4 separate sections and performed in 13 languages, it is a dizzying classical-tinged work exploring female mystery, religious transcendence, and bodily change, often through the perspective of different women saints. The end of a love affair—a theme treated with raw honesty elsewhere—is shot heavenward on this record, buoyed by the lush presence of a full orchestra and contributions from an award-winning songwriter among a long list of collaborators. Its sheer audacity alone renders the efforts of other artists look rather modest.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
The fact that this album succeeds in transcend dry academic posturing feels almost miraculous, with complete credit belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time album to blend historical sounds and the present, its stakes feel much greater on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more pronounced. What really elevates her fourth album, beyond its complex tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, proves to be a core spirit of joy. Similar to the legendary artist during her height, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls you into its tornado. When she is breaking your heart apart, the listener still want to stay right there for the journey.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
That playful spirit comes forth clearly during a stirring piano-led ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool for several moments. Then, all the music falls silent, and there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a declaration before a comically exaggerated orchestral crescendo thuds in with cartoonish force. The track immediately segues into the wild track driven by galloping strings, a powerful choir, and a surprise role from none other than Björk.
"The magic of Lux lies in you rarely quite understand—or even wish to predict—where it is going to next."
Nearly every song finishes at a completely distinct place from how it started. A track examines the transient trappings of fame with a featherlight orchestration before collapsing into digital cacophony. Another, a cut echoing the artist's previous rhythmic style begins off moody and sinister, with prowling vocals, until fluttering traditional handclaps and an angelic chorus enter to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Bridge Of Art & Pop
A key balancing act of the album is straddling the gap between radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. It is little surprise that the album has achieved the artist's first work to crack the upper reaches of key markets: at its core a collection of utterly undeniable pop songs. One track performed primarily in the English language swells around a chorus that seems to gather more and more infectious hooks while it spins upward. That feat gets repeated by a different expansive track that expands and contracts, intertwining layered tunes like an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused number charms via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares the cultural honesty of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting a former lover labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing have a sharp smile, like a fairy-tale character concealing a blade: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
Lux is pop on a maximalist scale, an ambitious grasp for capital-A Art in an era of impending AI-generated sameness. It rejects self-absorption for glorious elevation, creating a dramatic spectacle that masterfully manages its own inherent excess. It is an abundant source of buried treasure that takes patience to fully mine but doesn't seem like a chore. While other big pop albums of the year seemed like a meager meal, this record offers a lavish feast at which the guests around the table, perhaps tipsy on holy wine, flit from discussions about historical figures, the profound sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and common stories about hopeless men. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from music's truly endlessly inventive visionary.
