At first glance, this album could seem closer to an arduous academic quiz than a new popular music album from a musician whose previous single was a collaboration with an international K-pop icon. Divided into four separate sections and performed in 13 languages, we have a dizzying classical-tinged work exploring feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and bodily transformation, frequently by way of the prism of different women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with raw honesty elsewhere—soars upwards here, supported by the constant sound of a full symphony orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning composer within a vast list of contributors. Its sheer audacity alone makes the work of contemporary artists appear quite modest.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
That this album succeeds in transcend dry intellectual chin-stroking feels almost miraculous, with sole praise belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time project to blend historical sounds and the present, the scale feel far greater on Lux, and the balancing act far more dramatic. The element that truly raises her fourth release, outside of its complex melodies, dense arrangements, and inherent theatricality, proves to be a core spirit of playfulness. Similar to the legendary Björk during her peak, there is a wondrous sense to the vocalist's voice that pulls the listener into its whirlwind. Even when she is tearing your heart apart, the listener still want to stay right there through the ride.
A Prime Moment of Joy
This exuberant spirit shines brightly during the stirring piano-led song inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool for several moments. Suddenly, everything falls away, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh and a comment before a hilariously over-the-top orchestral surge crashes down like comedic impact. The song immediately segues into the wild single featuring galloping orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a cameo appearance from the artist Björk.
"The magic with Lux is that you rarely quite understand—nor want to predict—where it is going next."
Nearly every track finishes at a completely different place from where it started. One moment examines the transient trappings of celebrity over a delicate orchestration before disintegrating in electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused work begins out dark and sinister, with menacing beats, until fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly chorus arrive to smooth the song's jagged edges.
The Bridge Of Art & Pop
A key achievement of the album is straddling the line between radical experimentation and mainstream accessibility. It is no coincidence that the album has become her highest-charting work to crack the Top 5 of key charts: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. One track sung entirely in the English language swells around a refrain that feels to collect increasingly nagging hooks as it spirals upward. That trick is repeated by a different expansive track that expands and constricts, weaving layered melodies like a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it shares with cultural honesty of contemporary heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former lover described as an "psychological terrorist".
- Across the album, the singing have a painted-on edge, akin to a fairy-tale figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You have won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
This album represents pop on a maximalist scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry amid of impending AI-generated sameness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully controls its own inherent excess. It is a deep well of hidden treasure that takes time to fully mine but never feels like hard work. Where some major pop albums of the year felt like feasting on meal, Lux offers a lavish feast at which the characters around it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred wine, flit between conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about hopeless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly endlessly creative visionary.
