On the surface, Lux may look closer to a difficult scholarly examination rather than a new pop project by a musician whose previous single featured a global pop icon. Divided across four different movements and sung in thirteen tongues, it is a breathtaking symphonic opus investigating female mystery, religious ascent, and bodily change, frequently via the prism of different women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a topic treated with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot upwards here, supported by the lush sound of a major symphony orchestra and contributions from an award-winning songwriter among an extensive list of contributors. The pure ambition alone makes the work of contemporary artists appear rather small.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
That this album manages to avoid dry academic chin-stroking is almost a miracle, and sole credit going to the artist. While this is not the first time project to fuse the past with modern styles, the stakes feel much higher on Lux, and the tightrope walk far more pronounced. What truly elevates her fourth release, outside of its complex melodies, dense compositions, and inherent drama, is a core sense of fun. Similar to the iconic Björk at her height, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. When she's breaking hearts in two, the listener still want to be right there through the ride.
A Signature Example of Exuberance
That playful energy comes forth clearly during a stunning Italian ballad inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy for more than four minutes. Suddenly, everything drops silent, and there's a spontaneous laugh followed by a comment prior to a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo crashes in like cartoonish force. The track then segues to the wild single featuring galloping orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The magic with Lux is that you never exactly understand—nor wish to predict—where you will go next."
Almost every song concludes in a totally different place from where it started. One moment examines the fleeting nature of fame over a featherlight orchestration before collapsing into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's earlier trap-infused work starts out moody and brooding, featuring prowling beats, before fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften the song's jagged edges.
The Bridge Between Experiment and Pop
Another crucial balancing act of the album is navigating the line of radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. This is little coincidence that it has achieved the artist's highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of key charts: at its core a collection of truly catchy pop songs. A song performed primarily in English swells around a chorus that feels to collect increasingly nagging melodies as it spins skyward. This trick is echoed on a different powerful ballad that expands and constricts, intertwining multiple tunes as a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it shares with pop culture honesty of other heartbreak songs, lambasting a former partner labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the singing have a painted-on smile, akin to a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
Lux is pop on a grand level, a hungry reach for high artistry amid of looming artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its own inherent excess. It is a deep well of buried treasure that takes time to fully explore but doesn't seem like hard work. While other major releases of the year felt like a meager meal, Lux offers a sumptuous feast at which the guests at the table, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flutter from conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common stories about hopeless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's most restlessly creative visionary.
