At first glance, this album could seem more like an arduous scholarly challenge rather than a new popular music album from an artist who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop icon. Broken across 4 distinct parts and sung in thirteen tongues, it is a dizzying symphonic work that delves into feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and bodily change, often through the lens of different women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme handled with raw openness elsewhere—is launched heavenward here, carried by the lush presence of a major orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter within a long roll call of contributors. The pure ambition by itself renders the efforts of other pop stars look rather laughable.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that this album succeeds in escape dry academic posturing feels almost miraculous, with full praise going to the artist. Although this is not her first project to alchemize the past and modern styles, the ambitions are far higher here, with the balancing act more precarious. The element that truly raises this fourth album, beyond its multilayered melodies, rich compositions, and engrained theatricality, is a core spirit of fun. Much like the legendary Björk during her height, there is a captivating sense to Rosalía's singing which sweeps you into its whirlwind. Even when she is breaking hearts apart, you still want to stay right there for the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
This exuberant spirit comes forth brightly on a stirring Italian ballad inspired by a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool over more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops away, to reveal there's a gleeful laugh and a comment before a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo crashes down with cartoonish force. The song immediately shifts into the wild single featuring racing orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from none other than herself.
"The charm with Lux lies in you rarely exactly understand—nor wish to know—what it is going next."
Almost each song ends at a completely different point from where it began. A track explores the transient trappings of celebrity over a delicate orchestration before disintegrating into digital cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic style starts out dark and brooding, featuring menacing beats, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and an angelic chorus arrive to soften the song's rough corners.
The Bridge Of Experiment and Accessibility
Another crucial achievement of the album involves navigating the line between bold innovation and mainstream appeal. This is little surprise that the album has achieved her first release to crack the upper reaches of key markets: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable pop songs. One track performed primarily in the English language builds on a refrain that feels to gather increasingly nagging melodies as it spirals upward. This trick gets echoed on a different expansive track that expands and contracts, weaving layered tunes as a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its playful, theatrical flair and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it shares the pop culture honesty of other heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former partner labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the vocals carry a sharp smile, like a storybook character hiding a blade: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
Lux is popular music on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for high Art amid of impending artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime elevation, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully controls its own built-in ridiculousness. This is a deep source of hidden treasure that requires patience to completely mine but doesn't feels like a chore. While other big pop albums of the year felt like feasting on scraps, Lux is a lavish feast where the guests at the table, some tipsy on holy drink, flutter from discussions about ancient saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and common stories about hopeless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly endlessly creative practitioner.