Initially, Lux may look more like a difficult academic challenge than a new popular music album from a musician whose last hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop icon. Divided across four distinct movements and sung in thirteen tongues, it is a head-spinning orchestral-influenced album that delves into feminine mystery, religious transcendence, and physical transformation, often via the perspective of various women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a topic treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—is launched skyward here, carried by the constant sound of a full orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning composer among an extensive roll call of collaborators. Its sheer audacity alone makes the work of other pop stars seem quite modest.
Transcending Academic Pretense
The fact that Lux succeeds in avoid overly academic posturing feels almost miraculous, with complete praise belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not her first album to alchemize historical sounds and modern styles, its ambitions feel far higher on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more pronounced. What truly elevates her fourth release, beyond its complex tunes, dense arrangements, and inherent theatricality, proves to be an essential spirit of fun. Similar to the legendary Björk during her peak, there is a captivating sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls the listener into its whirlwind. Even when she is tearing hearts apart, the listener still want to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Joy
That playful energy comes forth brightly during the stirring Italian song inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy over several moments. Then, everything falls silent, and there's a spontaneous giggle and a declaration prior to a comically over-the-top string surge crashes down with comedic impact. The track then segues into the wild track driven by galloping strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo role from the artist Björk.
"The magic of this album lies in you rarely quite know—nor wish to predict—where you is going to next."
Nearly every song finishes in a totally different point from how it started. A track examines the fleeting nature of fame with a delicate orchestration before collapsing into digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing her earlier rhythmic style begins out moody and sinister, with prowling beats, before fluttering traditional handclaps and an angelic choir enter to soften its rough edges.
The Balance Between Art & Pop
A key achievement of Lux involves straddling the line of radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. It is no surprise that it has become the artist's first release to crack the upper reaches of key markets: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable hits. A song sung primarily in English swells on a refrain that feels to collect increasingly nagging hooks as it spins upward. This feat is repeated by a different powerful ballad that grows and constricts, intertwining multiple melodies as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares the pop culture honesty of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on smile, like a storybook character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
This album is pop on a maximalist level, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming AI-generated blankness. It rejects self-absorption for sublime transcendence, creating a dramatic spectacle that masterfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. This is an abundant source of buried gems that requires patience to fully explore but doesn't feels like hard work. Where some major releases of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, Lux offers a sumptuous feast where the characters at the table, perhaps intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter between conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and common stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
