On the surface, this work could seem more like a difficult scholarly quiz rather than a new pop album by a musician whose previous hit was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Divided across four distinct movements and performed in thirteen languages, it is a dizzying orchestral-influenced opus that delves into female mystery, religious ascent, and corporal transformation, often by way of the prism of different women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme handled with grounded openness elsewhere—is launched upwards on this record, buoyed by the lush sound of a major orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter within a long list of contributors. Its sheer audacity alone makes the efforts of contemporary artists seem quite small.
Transcending Academic Exercise
That this album manages to transcend overly academic chin-stroking is nearly miraculous, with complete credit belonging to Rosalía. While it's not her first project to fuse historical sounds and the present, the scale feel far higher here, and the tightrope walk more precarious. What really elevates her fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, dense arrangements, and engrained theatricality, proves to be a core sense of playfulness. Much like the iconic artist during her peak, you find a captivating sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps you up in its tornado. Even when she's breaking hearts apart, you nevertheless desire to be right there through the journey.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
That exuberant energy comes forth brightly during the stirring Italian ballad inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four moments. Suddenly, all the music drops away, to reveal there's a spontaneous giggle and a comment before a hilariously exaggerated string surge crashes in with cartoonish force. The track then shifts to the frenetic track featuring racing strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The magic of this album is that the listener rarely exactly understand—or even wish to predict—where it will go next."
Almost every song ends in a totally distinct place from where it began. One moment examines the fleeting nature of fame with a delicate orchestration only to disintegrating in digital chaos. Elsewhere, a song echoing the artist's previous trap-infused style starts out moody and brooding, featuring prowling beats, before sudden traditional rhythms and an angelic chorus enter to smooth its rough corners.
The Balance Of Art and Accessibility
A key balancing act of Lux involves navigating the line of radical experimentation and broad appeal. It is no coincidence that it has become her first release to break into the upper reaches of key markets: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable hits. A song sung primarily in English builds around a refrain that feels to collect increasingly infectious hooks while it spins upward. That trick gets repeated by a different powerful ballad that expands and constricts, intertwining layered tunes as an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused song seduces with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it aligns with pop culture impact of other breakup songs, eviscerating a former partner described as an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on edge, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a grand level, a hungry grasp for high artistry in an era of looming artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious transcendence, creating a dramatic spectacle that skillfully manages its own built-in excess. This is an abundant well of buried treasure that requires time to completely explore but never seem like a chore. While other big releases of the year felt like a meager meal, Lux is a lavish banquet where the guests at the table, perhaps intoxicated on holy drink, flutter between conversations about historical saints, the profound sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and shared gossip about useless men. It is a modern-day theatrical production from pop's most endlessly inventive visionary.
