On the surface, this album may look more like a difficult scholarly quiz rather than a new popular music record by a musician whose last single featured an international pop icon. Broken into four different movements and performed in 13 languages, we have a dizzying orchestral-influenced work that delves into female mystique, religious ascent, and physical transformation, often by way of the prism of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a relationship—a topic treated with grounded openness elsewhere—is launched upwards here, buoyed by the lush sound of a major orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning composer among a vast roll call of contributors. Its sheer daring by itself makes the efforts of other artists seem rather laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
The fact that Lux manages to transcend dry intellectual chin-stroking is nothing short of a miracle, and full credit going to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time project to blend historical sounds with the present, its ambitions feel far higher on Lux, with the balancing act more pronounced. What truly raises her fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, rich compositions, and engrained theatricality, is an essential sense of fun. Much like the legendary Björk during her height, there is a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener into its whirlwind. When she's breaking hearts apart, the listener nevertheless want to be right there through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Exuberance
This playful energy shines clearly during the stunning piano-led song about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over several minutes. Then, everything falls silent, and we hear a gleeful laugh and a declaration prior to a hilariously exaggerated orchestral crescendo crashes down like comedic force. The song immediately segues to the wild track driven by racing strings, a powerful choral group, and a surprise appearance from the artist Björk.
"The magic of Lux is that the listener never exactly understand—or even wish to predict—where it will go next."
Almost each track concludes at a completely distinct place than where it began. A track examines the fleeting trappings of celebrity over a delicate orchestration before collapsing into electronic chaos. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's earlier trap-infused work begins off moody and sinister, with prowling vocals, until fluttering flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir enter to soften its jagged corners.
The Balance Between Experiment & Pop
A key balancing act of Lux involves straddling the line between bold innovation and mainstream accessibility. This is little surprise that it has achieved her highest-charting work to crack the Top 5 of key charts: its heart contains a suite of utterly catchy hits. One track sung primarily in English swells on a refrain that seems to collect increasingly infectious hooks while it spirals skyward. This feat gets echoed on another expansive ballad that grows and contracts, intertwining multiple tunes as a complex weave.
- A waltz-like number seduces with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it shares with cultural impact of other breakup songs, lambasting an ex- partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Across the album, the singing carry a sharp smile, like a storybook figure hiding a blade: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You have the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
Lux is popular music on a maximalist scale, an ambitious grasp for capital-A artistry amid of impending AI-generated sameness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of sublime elevation, creating an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its own inherent ridiculousness. It is a deep source of hidden gems that requires patience to fully mine but never feels like hard work. Where some big releases of the year felt like a meager scraps, Lux offers a sumptuous banquet at which the guests around the table, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flutter between discussions about ancient figures, the profound feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and shared gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly endlessly creative visionary.
