Initially, this album could seem closer to an arduous academic challenge than the latest pop record from a musician who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop icon. Broken across four different movements and sung in 13 languages, we have a breathtaking symphonic opus exploring female mystique, religious ascent, and corporal change, frequently via the perspective of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic treated with grounded openness elsewhere—is launched upwards here, supported by the constant sound of a major symphony orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer within an extensive list of collaborators. The pure ambition alone makes the efforts of contemporary pop stars seem quite small.
Transcending Academic Pretense
That Lux manages to transcend dry academic chin-stroking is nothing short of a miracle, and sole credit going to the artist. Although it's not her first album to alchemize historical sounds with modern styles, the ambitions feel much greater here, with the tightrope walk far more pronounced. What really raises this fourth album, beyond its complex tunes, dense arrangements, and inherent theatricality, is an essential spirit of fun. Much like the legendary Björk at her height, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. When she is tearing your heart apart, you still desire to stay alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Example of Joy
This playful spirit comes forth clearly during a stirring Italian song inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy over several moments. Suddenly, all the music falls away, to reveal we hear a gleeful laugh followed by a comment prior to a comically exaggerated orchestral crescendo thuds down like comedic impact. The song immediately segues to the wild single driven by racing orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The charm of Lux is that you rarely exactly understand—or even wish to predict—what you will go next."
Nearly each song ends in a totally different point from how it started. A track explores the fleeting nature of celebrity over a featherlight symphony before disintegrating into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing her previous rhythmic style begins out moody and brooding, featuring menacing vocals, before sudden traditional rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to smooth its rough edges.
The Bridge Between Art and Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act of Lux is straddling the line between radical experimentation and broad accessibility. This is little surprise that the album has achieved the artist's highest-charting work to break into the Top 5 of key markets: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy pop songs. A song performed entirely in the English language swells around a chorus that seems to collect more and more infectious hooks as it spins skyward. That feat gets repeated by a different expansive track that grows and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies like a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms via its playful, theatrical drama and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the cultural honesty of other breakup songs, lambasting an ex- lover described as an "psychological bully".
- Across these tracks, the vocals carry a sharp smile, like a fairy-tale character concealing a blade: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You have the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
Lux represents pop on a grand level, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of looming artificial sameness. It rejects solipsism for sublime elevation, creating a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant well of buried treasure that requires time to fully explore but doesn't feels like a chore. While some major releases of the year felt like a meager meal, this record offers a sumptuous feast where the guests around it, some intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter from discussions about historical saints, the profound sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and shared stories about hopeless partners. It is a modern-day musical from pop's truly endlessly inventive visionary.
