On the surface, this album might appear closer to a difficult academic quiz than the latest pop record from an artist who just had a previous hit featured an international K-pop icon. Broken into 4 different movements and voiced in 13 languages, we have a dizzying classical-tinged opus exploring feminine mystery, spiritual transcendence, and physical change, frequently through the prism of various female saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic handled with raw openness elsewhere—is launched heavenward on this record, carried by the lush presence of a full symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning composer within a long list of collaborators. Its sheer audacity alone renders the efforts of contemporary artists appear rather small.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
The fact that Lux succeeds in transcend dry intellectual posturing feels nothing short of miraculous, with full credit belonging to the artist. While this is not her first project to blend the past and modern styles, the stakes feel much higher on Lux, and the tightrope walk far more pronounced. What really elevates this fourth album, beyond its multilayered melodies, dense arrangements, and inherent drama, is an essential sense of fun. Similar to the iconic Björk at her height, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls you up in its tornado. When she is tearing your heart in two, you still desire to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
This exuberant energy comes forth clearly on a stirring Italian ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool over several moments. Suddenly, all the music falls silent, to reveal there's a gleeful laugh followed by a comment prior to a comically exaggerated string crescendo crashes down with cartoonish impact. The track immediately segues to the wild track featuring racing strings, an imposing choir, and a surprise role from the artist Björk.
"The magic with Lux lies in the listener never exactly know—nor wish to know—where you is going next."
Almost every track finishes at a completely different place from where it began. A track explores the fleeting trappings of celebrity with a featherlight orchestration only to collapsing in electronic chaos. Another, a cut that recalls her earlier trap-infused work starts out moody and sinister, featuring prowling vocals, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir arrive to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Balance Between Experiment and Pop
A key achievement of Lux is navigating the gap of radical innovation and broad accessibility. This is no surprise that it has become the artist's first release to break into the Top 5 of key charts: at its core a suite of truly catchy pop songs. A song sung entirely in English swells on a refrain that seems to collect more and more infectious melodies as it spins upward. This trick is repeated on a different powerful ballad that expands and contracts, weaving multiple melodies like an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused number seduces via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares the pop culture impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, lambasting an ex- lover labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a sharp smile, like a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
This album is pop on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for high artistry amid of impending AI-generated blankness. It eschews solipsism for sublime elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully manages its built-in ridiculousness. It is an abundant well of hidden gems that takes patience to completely explore but doesn't seem like a chore. While other major releases of the year seemed like feasting on meal, this record offers a lavish banquet at which the characters around it, some intoxicated on holy drink, flit between discussions about ancient saints, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking grief, and common gossip about useless partners. It is a contemporary musical from music's truly restlessly inventive practitioner.
