At first glance, Lux may look more like an arduous academic examination than a new pop record by a musician whose last hit featured a global K-pop icon. Divided across 4 different movements and voiced in thirteen languages, we have a breathtaking symphonic album exploring feminine mystique, religious transcendence, and corporal transformation, frequently by way of the prism of various saintly figures. The dissolution of a romance—a topic handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—is launched upwards on this record, supported by the lush sound of a full symphony orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a long roll call of contributors. Its sheer daring by itself makes the efforts of other artists appear rather small.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
The fact that this album succeeds in avoid overly academic chin-stroking is nothing short of miraculous, and complete credit going to the artist. While it's not her first album to fuse the past and the present, its scale feel much greater on Lux, and the balancing act far more dramatic. What truly raises her fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, dense compositions, and engrained drama, is a core sense of joy. Much like the iconic artist at her peak, there is a wondrous quality to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. When she is tearing your heart apart, you nevertheless desire to be alongside her for the ride.
A Signature Moment of Exuberance
That playful spirit comes forth brightly during the stirring piano-led song inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for several moments. Suddenly, everything falls silent, and we hear a gleeful laugh and a comment prior to a hilariously over-the-top orchestral crescendo crashes in like cartoonish impact. The track then shifts into the frenetic single driven by racing orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The magic with Lux is that the listener never exactly know—or even wish to know—where you will go to next."
Nearly every track ends at a completely different place from where it began. One moment examines the fleeting trappings of celebrity with a featherlight symphony only to collapsing into electronic cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused work starts out dark and sinister, featuring menacing vocals, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and an angelic chorus arrive to soften its jagged corners.
The Bridge Of Art & Accessibility
A key balancing act on the album involves straddling the gap between radical experimentation and mainstream accessibility. This is no surprise that it has achieved her first release to break into the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a suite of utterly undeniable hits. One track performed primarily in English builds around a refrain that seems to gather increasingly infectious melodies as it spins skyward. This feat gets echoed by another expansive ballad that grows and constricts, intertwining multiple tunes as an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture impact of other breakup songs, eviscerating a former partner described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the singing have a sharp edge, akin to a storybook character hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
This album represents pop on a maximalist level, a hungry reach for high Art amid of impending artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully manages its own inherent excess. This is an abundant well of buried gems that takes time to completely explore but doesn't seem like hard work. Where other major releases of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, Lux is a sumptuous feast where the guests around it, some tipsy on holy drink, flit from conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and common gossip about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from music's most restlessly inventive practitioner.
