On the surface, Lux may look more like an arduous academic quiz rather than a new pop project from an artist whose last hit was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Broken into 4 separate parts and voiced in 13 tongues, this is a head-spinning symphonic opus investigating female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and corporal transformation, often via the prism of various women saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—is launched upwards on this record, carried by the lush presence of a full orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning composer within an extensive roll call of contributors. Its sheer daring alone renders the efforts of other pop stars appear rather small.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
That this album manages to escape overly academic chin-stroking is nearly miraculous, and full credit belonging to Rosalía. Although this is not the first time album to fuse the past with the present, its stakes are far greater here, and the balancing act more pronounced. The element that truly elevates this fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, dense compositions, and inherent drama, is an essential sense of playfulness. Similar to the iconic artist at her peak, there is a captivating quality to the vocalist's singing which sweeps you up in its whirlwind. Even when she is breaking hearts apart, you nevertheless desire to stay alongside her for the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
That exuberant spirit shines brightly on the stunning piano-led song about a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy over several moments. Then, all the music falls away, and there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a comment prior to a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo crashes in like comedic force. The track then shifts to the frenetic single featuring galloping orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from the artist Björk.
"The charm of this album lies in the listener rarely quite know—nor wish to know—what it will go to next."
Nearly every track finishes in a completely different place than where it started. A track explores the transient trappings of celebrity with a delicate symphony before disintegrating in digital cacophony. Another, a cut echoing the artist's earlier rhythmic work starts out moody and brooding, with menacing vocals, until sudden traditional rhythms and a heavenly chorus enter to smooth its jagged corners.
The Balance Between Art and Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act of Lux involves straddling the gap between bold experimentation and mainstream appeal. This is no coincidence that it has become her first release to crack the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable hits. A song performed primarily in the English language swells around a chorus that seems to gather more and more nagging melodies while it spins upward. That trick is repeated on another powerful ballad that grows and contracts, weaving layered tunes as a complex weave.
- A dance-infused song charms with its jaunty, theatrical flair and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it shares the pop culture impact of other breakup songs, lambasting a former partner described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the singing carry a painted-on edge, like a storybook figure concealing a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You have the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
This album represents pop on a maximalist scale, an ambitious reach for capital-A artistry in an era of impending artificial blankness. It rejects solipsism in favor of glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully controls its inherent ridiculousness. This is a deep well of hidden treasure that requires patience to fully mine but doesn't seem like a chore. Where some big releases of the year felt like a meager scraps, Lux is a lavish banquet at which the characters at the table, some intoxicated on holy drink, flit between discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from music's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
