At first glance, this work may look more like a difficult university examination rather than a new popular music album by a musician who just had a last single featured an international pop star. Broken across 4 separate sections and sung in thirteen tongues, we have a head-spinning orchestral-influenced album exploring female mystique, religious transcendence, and bodily transformation, frequently via the perspective of different female saints. The dissolution of a romance—a topic handled with raw openness elsewhere—is shot skyward here, carried by the lush presence of a full symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter within an extensive list of collaborators. The pure daring by itself renders the work of contemporary artists look rather laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
The fact that Lux succeeds in escape overly academic chin-stroking feels nearly miraculous, with sole praise going to the artist. While this is not the first time project to blend the past with modern styles, its stakes feel far greater here, with the balancing act more precarious. The element that truly elevates this fourth album, beyond its complex melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of fun. Much like the legendary Björk at her peak, there is a captivating sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener up in its tornado. Even when she's breaking hearts in two, you still desire to stay right there through the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
That playful energy comes forth clearly on the stunning Italian ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool over more than four moments. Suddenly, all the music falls away, and there's a spontaneous laugh followed by a declaration prior to a hilariously exaggerated string surge thuds down like cartoonish impact. The track then segues into the frenetic track featuring galloping strings, an imposing choir, and a surprise role from none other than Björk.
"The charm with Lux is that you rarely quite know—nor want to predict—what you is going next."
Nearly every track ends at a completely different point than how it began. A track explores the fleeting trappings of fame with a delicate symphony only to disintegrating in electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a song echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused style starts out moody and brooding, with menacing vocals, before fluttering flamenco rhythms and an angelic chorus enter to smooth the song's rough corners.
The Balance Of Experiment and Pop
Another crucial achievement on the album is straddling the gap between bold experimentation and broad accessibility. This is no surprise that the album has achieved her first work to break into the Top 5 of key charts: its heart contains a suite of truly catchy hits. One track sung entirely in the English language swells on a refrain that feels to collect increasingly nagging melodies while it spins skyward. That feat is echoed by a different powerful track that grows and contracts, weaving layered tunes like an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like song charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares the pop culture honesty of other breakup anthems, lambasting a former lover labeled an "psychological bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on edge, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a grand scale, a hungry reach for high artistry amid of impending AI-generated sameness. It rejects self-absorption for sublime transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its inherent excess. It is a deep well of hidden treasure that takes time to fully mine but never seem like a chore. While some major releases of the year seemed like feasting on meal, Lux is a lavish banquet at which the guests around it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred wine, flit between conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about hopeless partners. It is a contemporary musical from pop's truly endlessly inventive practitioner.
