On the surface, Lux might appear more like a difficult scholarly challenge than a new popular music album by a musician whose previous single was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Split into 4 different parts and voiced in thirteen tongues, it is a breathtaking symphonic work exploring feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and bodily change, often through the lens of various women saints. The end of a love affair—a topic treated with raw honesty elsewhere—is launched skyward here, supported by the constant presence of a major orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning composer within a vast list of collaborators. The pure ambition alone makes the work of contemporary pop stars look rather modest.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
The fact that Lux succeeds in escape dry academic chin-stroking is nearly a miracle, with full praise going to Rosalía. While this is not the first time project to fuse historical sounds and modern styles, its ambitions are much greater here, with the tightrope walk more pronounced. The element that really raises her fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, dense arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is a core sense of playfulness. Much like the iconic artist during her peak, you find a captivating quality to the vocalist's singing that pulls the listener into its whirlwind. Even when she's breaking your heart in two, you still want to be alongside her for the ride.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That playful energy comes forth clearly during the stunning piano-led song about a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over several moments. Suddenly, everything falls away, and we hear a gleeful laugh followed by a comment prior to a hilariously over-the-top orchestral crescendo crashes in like cartoonish force. The track immediately shifts to the wild track featuring racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a surprise role from none other than herself.
"The magic of this album is that the listener rarely quite understand—nor want to predict—what you will go to next."
Nearly every track ends at a completely distinct place from where it started. One moment explores the transient nature of celebrity with a delicate orchestration before collapsing in electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic style starts out moody and brooding, featuring menacing vocals, until sudden flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir arrive to soften the song's rough corners.
The Balance Of Art & Pop
A key achievement on the album is straddling the gap of radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. This is no surprise that it has become her first work to crack the Top 5 of major markets: its heart contains a collection of truly catchy hits. One track sung entirely in the English language builds on a chorus that seems to gather increasingly infectious melodies as it spirals upward. That trick is echoed by a different powerful ballad that expands and contracts, weaving multiple melodies as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song charms with its jaunty, theatrical drama and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares with pop culture impact of contemporary breakup songs, eviscerating a former partner described as an "psychological bully".
- Across the album, the singing carry a sharp smile, like a storybook character hiding a blade: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You have won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album is pop on a maximalist level, an ambitious reach for capital-A artistry amid of looming artificial sameness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of sublime elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its built-in excess. This is an abundant well of hidden treasure that requires time to completely explore but never feels like hard work. Where some big pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on meal, Lux is a sumptuous feast where the characters at it, some intoxicated on holy drink, flit between conversations about ancient figures, the profound sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and common stories about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's most endlessly inventive visionary.
