At first glance, this work could seem closer to a difficult academic challenge rather than the latest pop project by an artist whose previous single was a collaboration with an international K-pop icon. Broken into 4 distinct sections and performed in thirteen tongues, this is a breathtaking orchestral-influenced work exploring feminine mystique, religious transcendence, and corporal transformation, frequently via the prism of various female saints. The end of a relationship—a theme handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—soars skyward here, buoyed by the constant presence of a full symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter among a vast roll call of collaborators. Its sheer audacity alone makes the efforts of contemporary artists appear rather laughable.
Transcending Academic Pretense
The fact that Lux succeeds in avoid overly academic chin-stroking is nothing short of a miracle, with sole praise belonging to Rosalía. While this is not her first project to fuse historical sounds and modern styles, the scale are much greater on Lux, with the tightrope walk more pronounced. What truly elevates her fourth release, beyond its multilayered melodies, rich compositions, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential sense of joy. Similar to the legendary artist at her height, there is a wondrous quality to Rosalía's voice that pulls the listener up in its tornado. When she is tearing your heart apart, you still desire to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Example of Exuberance
That exuberant spirit shines brightly on a stunning piano-led ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over several moments. Then, all the music drops silent, and there's a gleeful laugh followed by a comment before a comically exaggerated string crescendo crashes down with comedic force. The track immediately segues into the frenetic track featuring racing strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than herself.
"The charm of this album is that you rarely quite know—or even wish to predict—where you will go next."
Nearly each song concludes at a completely distinct point from how it began. A track explores the transient nature of fame with a featherlight orchestration before collapsing into electronic chaos. Another, a cut echoing her previous trap-infused work begins off dark and sinister, featuring menacing vocals, until sudden flamenco handclaps and a heavenly chorus enter to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Balance Of Art & Pop
Another crucial achievement on the album is straddling the line of radical innovation and broad accessibility. It is no coincidence that the album has become the artist's highest-charting work to break into the Top 5 of major charts: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. One track performed entirely in English swells on a refrain that feels to collect increasingly infectious melodies while it spins upward. This trick gets echoed on a different expansive ballad that expands and constricts, intertwining layered melodies as a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like number seduces via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it aligns the pop culture impact of contemporary heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former partner labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing have a painted-on smile, akin to a fairy-tale figure concealing a blade: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
Lux represents popular music on a maximalist level, an ambitious reach for high artistry amid of looming artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that skillfully manages its built-in excess. This is a deep source of hidden treasure that requires time to completely explore but never feels like a chore. Where other big pop albums of the year seemed like a meager meal, this record is a sumptuous banquet where the guests at it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred drink, flit between conversations about historical saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common gossip about useless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from music's most endlessly creative practitioner.
