Initially, Lux could seem more like a challenging university examination than a new popular music project by an artist who just had a previous hit featured an international pop star. Divided across 4 separate parts and performed in thirteen languages, it is a head-spinning classical-tinged work investigating feminine mystique, religious ascent, and physical change, frequently via the lens of various women saints. The dissolution of a romance—a topic treated with raw openness elsewhere—is shot heavenward here, carried by the constant sound of a full symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter among a long list of contributors. Its sheer ambition alone renders the work of other artists look rather laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
The fact that Lux succeeds in escape dry intellectual posturing is almost a miracle, with full credit going to Rosalía. While it's not the first time album to alchemize historical sounds and modern styles, the ambitions feel much greater here, and the tightrope walk far more dramatic. What truly raises this fourth release, beyond its multilayered melodies, dense compositions, and inherent drama, proves to be an essential sense of joy. Similar to the iconic artist at her peak, you find a captivating sense to the vocalist's singing that pulls the listener into its tornado. Even when she is tearing your heart in two, the listener still desire to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Example of Joy
This exuberant energy shines clearly on the stunning piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy for more than four minutes. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh followed by a comment prior to a comically over-the-top string surge crashes down with cartoonish impact. The track then segues to the frenetic single driven by racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo appearance from the artist Björk.
"The charm of Lux is that you rarely quite know—or even wish to predict—where it will go next."
Nearly each song concludes in a completely different point than where it began. A track explores the transient nature of fame with a delicate symphony only to collapsing in digital chaos. Another, a song that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused work begins off moody and brooding, featuring prowling vocals, until fluttering traditional rhythms and an angelic chorus arrive to soften its jagged corners.
The Balance Of Art and Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act on Lux is straddling the line between radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. This is little coincidence that it has become her highest-charting work to crack the Top 5 of major markets: at its core a collection of utterly undeniable pop songs. A song performed entirely in English swells on a refrain that seems to collect increasingly nagging melodies as it spins upward. This trick is repeated on a different powerful track that expands and contracts, weaving layered tunes like an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like number charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares with pop culture honesty of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating an ex- partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals carry a sharp smile, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
Lux is popular music on a grand level, a hungry grasp for high artistry in an era of impending artificial blankness. It rejects self-absorption for sublime elevation, creating a dramatic spectacle that skillfully controls its own built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep well of hidden treasure that takes patience to fully mine but doesn't feels like a chore. Where other big pop albums of the year felt like a meager meal, this record offers a sumptuous banquet at which the characters at it, some intoxicated on holy wine, flit between discussions about historical saints, the profound sensation of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about useless partners. It is a contemporary theatrical production from pop's most endlessly creative practitioner.
