At first glance, Lux may look closer to a challenging scholarly quiz than a new popular music record by a musician who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Broken into four distinct sections and performed in thirteen languages, this is a breathtaking symphonic album that delves into feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and corporal change, often via the perspective of various women saints. The dissolution of a romance—a theme handled with raw openness elsewhere—soars upwards on this record, supported by the lush presence of a full orchestra and work from an award-winning composer within a vast list of contributors. The pure audacity by itself renders the work of contemporary artists look quite modest.
Transcending Academic Pretense
The fact that this album succeeds in avoid overly academic posturing is nothing short of a miracle, and complete praise belonging to the artist. Although it's not her first album to fuse the past with the present, its scale are much higher here, and the balancing act far more precarious. The element that truly raises this fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and inherent drama, proves to be an essential sense of playfulness. Similar to the iconic Björk during her peak, there is a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener into its whirlwind. Even when she's tearing your heart apart, you still desire to be alongside her for the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
That exuberant energy shines brightly during a stunning Italian ballad inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy over several moments. Suddenly, all the music drops silent, to reveal there's a gleeful giggle followed by a comment before a hilariously exaggerated orchestral surge thuds in like comedic force. The track immediately segues to the wild single driven by racing strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from the artist herself.
"The charm of this album is that you rarely quite understand—nor want to know—what you is going next."
Almost each song ends at a completely distinct place from where it began. A track explores the transient trappings of fame over a featherlight symphony before disintegrating into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls the artist's previous rhythmic work starts out moody and sinister, with menacing beats, before sudden flamenco rhythms and an angelic choir arrive to soften the song's rough edges.
The Bridge Between Art & Accessibility
Another crucial achievement of Lux involves straddling the line between radical innovation and broad appeal. This is no surprise that the album has become her first release to break into the upper reaches of key markets: its heart contains a suite of utterly undeniable hits. One track sung primarily in the English language swells around a chorus that feels to collect increasingly nagging melodies while it spins skyward. That trick is repeated by another powerful ballad that expands and constricts, weaving layered melodies as 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 impact of other heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former lover described as an "psychological bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a sharp edge, like a fairy-tale figure concealing a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You have the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
This album represents pop on a grand scale, a hungry reach for capital-A Art in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of sublime transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. This is a deep well of buried gems that requires time to fully mine but doesn't feels like a chore. Where some major releases of the year seemed like feasting on meal, Lux is a sumptuous feast at which the characters at the table, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flutter from conversations about historical figures, the profound feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about useless partners. It is a modern-day musical from pop's truly endlessly inventive practitioner.
