At first glance, this album might appear more like a challenging academic examination rather than a new popular music album from an artist who just had a last hit was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Divided into four separate sections and performed in thirteen languages, we have a breathtaking classical-tinged work investigating feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and bodily transformation, often via the perspective of various saintly figures. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—is launched heavenward on this record, carried by the constant sound of a full orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer among a vast roll call of collaborators. Its sheer audacity by itself makes the efforts of contemporary artists seem quite modest.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
The fact that Lux manages to avoid overly intellectual chin-stroking feels nothing short of a miracle, and sole credit belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time album to alchemize historical sounds and the present, the scale feel much greater on Lux, with the balancing act more precarious. What truly elevates this fourth release, outside of its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and inherent drama, is a core spirit of joy. Similar to the iconic artist during her peak, you find a captivating sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls the listener into its whirlwind. Even when she's breaking your heart apart, you still desire to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Joy
That exuberant spirit shines brightly during a stirring piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for several minutes. Suddenly, everything falls away, and there's a gleeful laugh followed by a declaration before a comically over-the-top orchestral crescendo crashes in like cartoonish force. The track immediately segues to the frenetic single driven by racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than herself.
"The magic with this album lies in the listener rarely exactly understand—nor want to know—where you is going to next."
Almost every song ends in a totally distinct point from where it started. One moment explores the transient nature of fame over a delicate orchestration only to disintegrating in digital chaos. Another, a cut echoing her earlier rhythmic style starts out dark and brooding, featuring prowling vocals, until sudden traditional rhythms and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften the song's jagged edges.
The Balance Between Art & Accessibility
A key achievement on the album involves straddling the gap of bold innovation and broad accessibility. It is no surprise that it has achieved the artist's first work to crack the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable hits. A song performed primarily in English builds on a refrain that seems to collect more and more nagging hooks as it spirals skyward. That feat gets echoed on another expansive ballad that expands and constricts, intertwining multiple melodies as an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like number seduces with its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares the pop culture impact of contemporary breakup anthems, eviscerating an ex- partner described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing carry a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook figure concealing a knife: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
Lux is popular music on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for high Art amid of impending artificial blankness. It rejects solipsism for glorious elevation, creating an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully controls its inherent excess. This is an abundant well of buried gems that takes time to completely explore but doesn't seem like hard work. Where some major pop albums of the year felt like a meager scraps, Lux is a sumptuous feast at which the characters at it, some intoxicated on holy wine, flutter between discussions about historical saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and common stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from pop's truly restlessly inventive practitioner.
