At first glance, this album may look closer to a challenging scholarly examination than a new popular music record from a musician whose previous single was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Divided across four separate movements and sung in thirteen languages, it is a breathtaking symphonic album that delves into feminine mystery, religious ascent, and bodily change, often by way of the perspective of different women saints. The end of a love affair—a theme treated with raw openness elsewhere—is shot heavenward on this record, buoyed by the constant presence of a major symphony orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning composer among an extensive roll call of collaborators. Its sheer daring alone makes the efforts of other artists seem rather laughable.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
That this album manages to escape dry academic posturing is nothing short of a miracle, with sole praise belonging to Rosalía. While it's not the first time album to blend historical sounds and modern styles, the ambitions feel far higher on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more dramatic. What truly raises her fourth release, outside of its complex tunes, dense compositions, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the iconic Björk at her peak, you find a wondrous quality to the vocalist's singing which sweeps the listener into its tornado. Even when she's breaking your heart apart, the listener still desire to stay alongside her for the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
That exuberant spirit comes forth brightly during a stunning piano-led song about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for several minutes. Then, everything drops away, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh and a declaration prior to a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo crashes down like cartoonish impact. The song immediately segues to the wild single featuring galloping strings, a powerful choral group, and a surprise role from the artist herself.
"The charm with Lux lies in you never quite understand—or even wish to predict—where you will go next."
Nearly each song finishes at a totally different point from how it started. One moment examines the fleeting trappings of fame over a delicate orchestration before disintegrating into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic work starts out dark and sinister, with menacing beats, until sudden traditional rhythms and an angelic chorus enter to soften its rough edges.
The Balance Of Experiment and Accessibility
A key balancing act on the album is navigating the gap between radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. It is little surprise that it has achieved the artist's first release to crack the Top 5 of major markets: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable hits. A song performed entirely in the English language swells around a refrain that feels to collect increasingly infectious hooks as it spins upward. That trick is repeated by another powerful ballad that grows and contracts, intertwining multiple tunes like a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused song seduces via its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns with cultural honesty of contemporary breakup anthems, eviscerating an ex- partner described as an "psychological bully".
- Across the album, the vocals carry a sharp smile, like a fairy-tale figure concealing a blade: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for high Art amid of impending artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of sublime transcendence, crafting a dramatic spectacle that masterfully controls its own inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of buried treasure that takes patience to fully explore but doesn't feels like a chore. Where some big releases of the year felt like a meager scraps, Lux is a lavish banquet at which the guests around it, some intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter between conversations about ancient saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and shared stories about hopeless men. It is a contemporary musical from pop's truly endlessly inventive practitioner.
