On the surface, this work might appear closer to a challenging university challenge rather than the latest popular music project by an artist who just had a last hit featured an international K-pop icon. Divided across 4 distinct sections and sung in thirteen tongues, it is a dizzying classical-tinged album exploring feminine mystique, religious ascent, and physical change, frequently via the prism of different women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—is shot upwards on this record, buoyed by the constant sound of a major symphony orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a long list of contributors. Its sheer audacity by itself makes the efforts of other artists appear rather small.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That Lux succeeds in avoid dry intellectual chin-stroking feels nearly a miracle, with full praise belonging to Rosalía. While it's not the first time album to fuse the past with the present, the scale feel far greater here, and the balancing act more precarious. The element that really elevates her fourth release, beyond its complex tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Much like the legendary artist at her peak, there is a captivating sense to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. Even when she's tearing hearts apart, the listener still desire to be right there for the ride.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That playful energy shines brightly on a stunning piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over several minutes. Then, all the music falls silent, to reveal we hear a gleeful laugh and a comment prior to a comically exaggerated orchestral surge thuds in like comedic impact. The track immediately segues to the wild single driven by racing strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo appearance from the artist Björk.
"The charm of this album lies in you rarely quite understand—or even want to predict—what you will go next."
Almost each track concludes in a completely different place from where it began. A track explores the fleeting nature of celebrity with a featherlight orchestration before collapsing in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut echoing her earlier rhythmic style starts out moody and brooding, with menacing beats, before fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Balance Of Art and Pop
A key achievement on the album involves navigating the gap of radical innovation and mainstream appeal. It is no coincidence that the album has become the artist's first work to break into the Top 5 of major charts: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable hits. A song performed primarily in the English language builds around a chorus that seems to gather increasingly infectious melodies as it spirals upward. This trick is echoed on a different powerful track that grows and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies like an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song charms via its playful, theatrical drama and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it shares with cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former partner described as an "psychological bully".
- Throughout the album, the singing have a painted-on smile, like a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
Lux represents popular music on a grand level, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of looming artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of sublime elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully controls its built-in excess. It is a deep well of hidden gems that takes time to fully mine but never seem like a chore. Where other major pop albums of the year felt like feasting on scraps, this record offers a sumptuous banquet at which the guests at the table, perhaps tipsy on sacred wine, flit from conversations about ancient saints, the profound feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from music's most endlessly creative visionary.
