At first glance, this album may look closer to a difficult university examination than the latest popular music project by a musician who just had a previous single featured a global pop star. Divided across four distinct parts and performed in thirteen tongues, this is a dizzying classical-tinged opus exploring female mystique, spiritual ascent, and corporal change, often by way of the prism of various women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with raw openness elsewhere—is launched heavenward here, buoyed by the lush presence of a full symphony orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning composer among a vast list of collaborators. Its sheer ambition alone renders the work of contemporary artists seem quite laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
That Lux manages to avoid overly intellectual chin-stroking is almost a miracle, with full credit going to Rosalía. While this is not her first project to alchemize historical sounds with the present, its stakes are far greater on Lux, with the balancing act more dramatic. What truly elevates her fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, dense arrangements, and inherent drama, proves to be an essential sense of fun. Similar to the iconic Björk during her peak, you find a wondrous quality to the vocalist's voice which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. Even when she's tearing your heart in two, the listener nevertheless want to stay alongside her for the journey.
A Signature Example of Exuberance
This playful spirit shines brightly on the stunning Italian song inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over several minutes. Then, all the music drops away, and there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a comment before a hilariously over-the-top string surge crashes in with cartoonish force. The song then shifts into the wild track featuring racing strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than Björk.
"The magic with Lux lies in you never quite know—nor want to know—where you will go to next."
Nearly each song finishes in a completely different place from how it began. One moment explores the transient nature of fame with a delicate orchestration only to disintegrating in electronic chaos. Another, a song echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused work starts off moody and sinister, with menacing vocals, until fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften the song's rough corners.
The Bridge Between Experiment and Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act on the album is straddling the line between bold innovation and mainstream appeal. This is no surprise that the album has become the artist's first work to crack the Top 5 of major markets: at its core a collection of utterly undeniable pop songs. A song performed primarily in English swells on a chorus that feels to gather increasingly nagging hooks as it spins skyward. That feat is echoed by another expansive ballad that grows and constricts, intertwining layered tunes like a complex weave.
- A waltz-like number charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it shares the pop culture honesty of contemporary breakup anthems, lambasting a former lover described as an "psychological bully".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on smile, akin to a fairy-tale figure concealing a blade: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You've the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album is popular music on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for capital-A artistry in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It eschews solipsism for glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. It is an abundant well of hidden gems that takes patience to completely explore but doesn't seem like hard work. While other big pop albums of the year seemed like a meager meal, Lux offers a lavish feast where the characters around it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred wine, flit between conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking grief, and common gossip about useless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from pop's truly endlessly creative visionary.
