Initially, Lux may look closer to an arduous scholarly quiz than the latest pop record from a musician who just had a last single was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Divided into four different parts and sung in 13 languages, we have a head-spinning symphonic opus exploring female mystique, spiritual transcendence, and physical change, frequently via the lens of various saintly figures. The end of a relationship—a theme treated with raw openness elsewhere—soars skyward on this record, carried by the constant sound of a major symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter within a long roll call of collaborators. Its sheer audacity alone makes the work of contemporary artists appear quite laughable.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
That Lux succeeds in escape dry intellectual posturing feels nothing short of miraculous, with sole praise belonging to the artist. Although it's not the first time album to blend historical sounds with the present, its stakes feel far greater on Lux, and the tightrope walk more precarious. The element that truly elevates this fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and inherent theatricality, proves to be a core sense of joy. Similar to the legendary Björk during her peak, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener into its tornado. When she is breaking your heart in two, you nevertheless want to stay right there for the journey.
A Prime Moment of Joy
This playful energy comes forth brightly on the stirring piano-led song about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy for several moments. Then, everything falls away, and we hear a gleeful giggle and a declaration before a comically exaggerated orchestral surge thuds in with cartoonish impact. The track immediately segues into the frenetic track featuring racing orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from none other than herself.
"The charm of Lux is that the listener never quite understand—or even wish to know—where it will go to next."
Nearly each track finishes at a completely distinct point from how it started. One moment examines the transient nature of celebrity over a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating into electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's previous trap-infused style begins off dark and sinister, featuring prowling vocals, before sudden flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir enter to smooth its rough edges.
The Bridge Between Art and Pop
A key achievement on the album is navigating the gap between radical experimentation and broad appeal. This is no coincidence that the album has become her highest-charting release to crack the upper reaches of major markets: its heart contains a suite of truly catchy pop songs. A song performed entirely in the English language swells around a chorus that seems to gather more and more infectious hooks while it spins upward. This trick is echoed by a different expansive track that expands and contracts, weaving multiple melodies like an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms via its jaunty, theatrical flair and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it shares with cultural honesty of contemporary heartbreak anthems, lambasting an ex- lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Across the album, the singing carry a painted-on smile, like a storybook character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
Lux is popular music on a grand level, an ambitious reach for capital-A artistry amid of impending artificial sameness. It rejects solipsism in favor of glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its own inherent ridiculousness. This is a deep source of hidden gems that requires patience to completely mine but doesn't feels like hard work. While some major pop albums of the year seemed like a meager meal, this record offers a lavish banquet where the guests at it, some tipsy on sacred wine, flit between conversations about historical saints, the profound sensation of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about hopeless men. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from music's truly endlessly creative practitioner.
