On the surface, Lux could seem more like a difficult scholarly challenge than the latest pop project by a musician whose previous single featured an international pop star. Broken into 4 distinct sections and voiced in thirteen tongues, it is a breathtaking classical-tinged album exploring feminine mystique, spiritual ascent, and bodily transformation, often by way of the prism of various female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme handled with raw openness elsewhere—soars skyward here, supported by the constant sound of a major symphony orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer among an extensive list of contributors. Its sheer ambition by itself renders the work of other pop stars appear quite modest.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to transcend dry intellectual posturing is almost miraculous, and sole praise going to Rosalía. While this is not her first album to fuse historical sounds with the present, its ambitions feel much higher on Lux, and the tightrope walk more pronounced. What truly raises her fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, dense compositions, and inherent drama, is a core spirit of joy. Much like the legendary Björk during her height, there is a wondrous sense to the vocalist's voice which sweeps you up in its tornado. Even when she's breaking your heart apart, you still desire to stay right there through the ride.
A Signature Example of Joy
This playful spirit comes forth clearly during a stirring Italian song inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy over more than four moments. Suddenly, all the music drops away, and we hear a gleeful laugh and a comment before a comically over-the-top orchestral crescendo crashes in like comedic impact. The track then segues into the wild track featuring galloping strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo appearance from none other than Björk.
"The charm of Lux is that you rarely exactly understand—or even wish to predict—what you will go to next."
Almost each track ends at a totally different point from where it started. A track explores the transient nature of celebrity over a delicate orchestration before collapsing into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused work starts off dark and sinister, with prowling beats, until fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir enter to smooth the song's rough edges.
The Bridge Of Art and Pop
A key balancing act of the album is straddling the gap of bold innovation and broad accessibility. It is no coincidence that it has achieved her highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable hits. A song performed primarily in English builds around a refrain that feels to collect increasingly nagging melodies as it spirals upward. This trick is repeated by another powerful ballad that expands and contracts, weaving multiple tunes as a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused number charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it aligns with cultural honesty of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former lover labeled an "emotional bully".
- Throughout the album, the vocals carry a sharp smile, like a storybook character hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
Lux represents popular music on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for capital-A artistry amid of impending AI-generated sameness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime elevation, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully controls its own inherent excess. This is an abundant well of buried treasure that requires patience to completely explore but never seem like hard work. Where other big releases of the year seemed like feasting on meal, this record is a lavish banquet where the guests around the table, perhaps intoxicated on holy drink, flit from conversations about historical saints, the profound sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and shared stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from music's most restlessly creative visionary.
