At first glance, Lux may look more like an arduous academic quiz than the latest pop album by an artist who just had a previous single featured an international K-pop star. Split into 4 distinct sections and performed in 13 languages, this is a head-spinning classical-tinged album investigating female mystery, religious transcendence, and bodily transformation, frequently by way of the lens of various saintly figures. The dissolution of a romance—a theme handled with raw honesty elsewhere—is shot heavenward here, supported by the constant presence of a major symphony orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among an extensive list of collaborators. The pure ambition alone makes the efforts of other pop stars seem rather small.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
That Lux succeeds in escape overly academic posturing feels almost miraculous, with full praise going to Rosalía. Although this is not her first project to alchemize the past and the present, the ambitions feel far greater here, and the balancing act more pronounced. What really elevates her fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, rich arrangements, and inherent drama, is an essential spirit of joy. Much like the legendary Björk during her peak, there is a wondrous quality to the vocalist's voice which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. When she's tearing your heart in two, you nevertheless desire to stay right there for the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
This exuberant spirit shines clearly during a stirring Italian song about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four moments. Suddenly, everything falls away, to reveal we hear a gleeful laugh followed by a comment prior to a hilariously over-the-top string surge thuds down with cartoonish force. The song then segues to the frenetic track featuring racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist Björk.
"The magic of this album lies in you never quite know—nor want to predict—what you is going to next."
Almost each track ends in a totally different place than where it began. A track explores the fleeting trappings of celebrity with a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating in digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing her earlier rhythmic work begins off dark and brooding, featuring prowling vocals, until sudden traditional handclaps and a heavenly chorus enter to soften the song's rough edges.
The Bridge Between Experiment & Pop
Another crucial achievement of the album involves straddling the gap between radical experimentation and broad appeal. This is little coincidence that the album has become her highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy hits. One track sung primarily in English swells on a chorus that seems to gather increasingly infectious melodies while it spirals skyward. This feat gets echoed on another expansive track that grows and contracts, weaving multiple melodies as an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like number seduces via its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it aligns the cultural honesty of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Across the album, the vocals have a sharp smile, akin to a storybook character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You have the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
This album is pop on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for high artistry in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of sublime elevation, creating a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. It is an abundant well of hidden treasure that takes time to completely mine but doesn't feels like hard work. While other big releases of the year felt like a meager meal, Lux offers a sumptuous feast at which the characters around it, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flutter from discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and shared stories about hopeless men. It is a contemporary musical from pop's truly restlessly inventive practitioner.
