Initially, this work could seem closer to a difficult university quiz than a new popular music project by a musician whose previous hit featured an international K-pop star. Split across four separate movements and sung in thirteen languages, we have a dizzying orchestral-influenced opus investigating female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and bodily transformation, frequently through the lens of different female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with raw honesty elsewhere—is shot upwards here, buoyed by the lush sound of a full orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer within a vast list of collaborators. The pure audacity alone renders the efforts of contemporary artists appear rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
That Lux manages to avoid dry intellectual chin-stroking is almost miraculous, with complete credit belonging to Rosalía. While it's not her first project to fuse the past and modern styles, its ambitions feel far higher here, with the balancing act far more precarious. What really elevates her fourth album, beyond its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential sense of joy. Similar to the iconic artist at her height, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps you into its tornado. Even when she is breaking your heart in two, the listener nevertheless desire to stay alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Example of Joy
That exuberant energy comes forth clearly on the stirring Italian ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy for more than four minutes. Then, all the music falls away, and we hear a gleeful laugh followed by a comment before a hilariously over-the-top string crescendo thuds down like cartoonish impact. The song then shifts into the frenetic track featuring galloping orchestration, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from the artist Björk.
"The charm of this album lies in you never quite know—or even wish to know—where it is going to next."
Almost each track concludes in a totally distinct point than where it started. One moment examines the fleeting nature of fame over a featherlight orchestration before collapsing in electronic cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's earlier trap-infused work starts off moody and brooding, featuring menacing vocals, until fluttering traditional rhythms and an angelic choir enter to soften its jagged edges.
The Bridge Of Art & Accessibility
A key achievement of Lux involves straddling the line between radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. It is no surprise that it has achieved the artist's highest-charting release to crack the upper reaches of key markets: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy hits. One track performed entirely in English builds on a chorus that feels to gather increasingly nagging melodies while it spirals skyward. This feat gets repeated by another powerful track that grows and contracts, weaving layered melodies as an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like song charms via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares the pop culture honesty of contemporary breakup songs, eviscerating a former partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on smile, like a storybook character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
Lux represents pop on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for capital-A artistry in an era of impending artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its own inherent excess. This is an abundant well of buried gems that takes patience to completely mine but never feels like hard work. While other big releases of the year felt like a meager scraps, Lux is a lavish feast at which the characters around the table, some intoxicated on sacred wine, flit from conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common gossip about useless partners. It is a modern-day musical from music's truly endlessly creative practitioner.
