On the surface, this album may look more like a challenging scholarly quiz than a new pop project by an artist whose previous single was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Broken across four distinct sections and sung in 13 languages, we have a head-spinning symphonic album investigating female mystique, spiritual ascent, and physical change, frequently through the prism of various women saints. The end of a relationship—a topic treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—soars heavenward on this record, supported by the lush sound of a full orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a vast list of contributors. Its sheer daring alone renders the efforts of contemporary pop stars look rather small.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to avoid overly intellectual chin-stroking feels nothing short of miraculous, with full credit belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time project to blend historical sounds and the present, the scale feel much higher on Lux, and the balancing act far more dramatic. The element that really raises her fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, dense compositions, and inherent theatricality, is an essential spirit of joy. Similar to the legendary artist at her peak, there is a wondrous quality to the vocalist's voice which sweeps you into its tornado. When she is tearing your heart apart, you still want to stay alongside her for the journey.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
This exuberant spirit comes forth brightly on a stirring piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy for several minutes. Then, everything drops away, and there's a spontaneous laugh followed by a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo thuds down with comedic force. The track immediately segues to the wild single driven by racing strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo appearance from the artist Björk.
"The magic of Lux is that you never exactly know—nor want to predict—where you will go to next."
Almost each track concludes in a totally distinct point than where it started. One moment examines the fleeting nature of fame with a delicate symphony only to disintegrating into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls the artist's previous rhythmic work begins out moody and sinister, featuring menacing vocals, before fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly chorus enter to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Balance Of Experiment and Pop
Another crucial balancing act of the album is straddling the gap of radical experimentation and mainstream accessibility. It is no coincidence that it has achieved the artist's first release to break into the upper reaches of major markets: at its core a collection of truly catchy pop songs. One track sung entirely in English swells around a refrain that seems to collect increasingly infectious hooks as it spirals skyward. This feat is repeated by another expansive track that grows and constricts, intertwining multiple tunes like an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song seduces via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it aligns the pop culture impact of other breakup anthems, lambasting an ex- lover labeled an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing have a painted-on edge, like a storybook character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
Lux represents pop on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It rejects self-absorption for glorious elevation, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its inherent excess. It is an abundant well of buried gems that takes patience to fully explore but doesn't seem like a chore. Where other big pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, this record is a lavish banquet at which the characters at the table, perhaps intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter between conversations about ancient saints, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking grief, and common stories about useless partners. It is a modern-day theatrical production from pop's most restlessly inventive visionary.
