On the surface, Lux may look closer to a challenging academic challenge than the latest popular music record by a musician whose last single was a collaboration with a global K-pop star. Split into 4 distinct parts and performed in thirteen languages, we have a head-spinning classical-tinged album exploring female mystery, spiritual ascent, and physical transformation, often via the perspective of different women saints. The end of a relationship—a theme handled with raw honesty elsewhere—is launched upwards on this record, carried by the lush presence of a full orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer among a long list of contributors. Its sheer audacity alone makes the efforts of contemporary pop stars seem quite laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
The fact that Lux manages to transcend dry academic chin-stroking feels nearly a miracle, and complete credit belonging to Rosalía. While this is not the first time album to fuse historical sounds with modern styles, the scale are far greater here, and the balancing act far more precarious. The element that really raises this fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, rich compositions, and inherent drama, is a core sense of fun. Similar to the iconic Björk during her height, there is a captivating quality to the vocalist's voice that pulls you into its tornado. Even when she is tearing your heart in two, the listener nevertheless want to be alongside her through the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
That playful spirit comes forth clearly during a stunning piano-led ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy for several moments. Then, all the music drops silent, to reveal we hear a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration before a comically exaggerated orchestral crescendo crashes down like cartoonish impact. The track immediately segues to the frenetic track featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a surprise role from the artist herself.
"The charm with Lux lies in you never exactly understand—or even wish to predict—where you will go to next."
Nearly every song ends in a totally different point from how it started. A track examines the fleeting nature of fame over a delicate orchestration only to disintegrating in electronic cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic style starts off moody and brooding, with prowling beats, before sudden traditional handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften its jagged corners.
The Bridge Between Art & Accessibility
A key balancing act on the album is straddling the line between radical experimentation and broad appeal. It is little coincidence that the album has become the artist's highest-charting work to break into the upper reaches of major markets: at its core a collection of truly undeniable hits. A song performed entirely in English swells around a refrain that feels to gather more and more nagging melodies while it spirals skyward. That feat gets repeated by another powerful track that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple tunes like an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused number charms with its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it aligns with cultural impact of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting a former lover described as an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on smile, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
Lux is pop on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for high Art amid of looming AI-generated blankness. It rejects solipsism in favor of glorious transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its built-in ridiculousness. This is an abundant source of buried gems that requires time to fully mine but never seem like a chore. Where other major pop albums of the year felt like a meager meal, Lux offers a sumptuous feast where the characters at it, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flit from discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and shared gossip about hopeless partners. It is a contemporary musical from music's most endlessly creative visionary.
