Initially, this album might appear more like a difficult university challenge than the latest popular music project from an artist who just had a last single was a collaboration with an international K-pop icon. Broken into four different sections and performed in 13 languages, we have a breathtaking symphonic work investigating female mystery, spiritual ascent, and bodily change, often through the prism of different saintly figures. The end of a relationship—a topic handled with raw openness elsewhere—is launched skyward on this record, buoyed by the lush sound of a full orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter among an extensive roll call of collaborators. The pure audacity by itself renders the efforts of contemporary artists seem quite laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
That this album succeeds in transcend overly intellectual posturing feels nothing short of miraculous, and complete credit belonging to Rosalía. While it's not the first time project to blend the past with the present, its stakes feel far higher on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more dramatic. The element that really raises her fourth album, beyond its complex tunes, rich compositions, and inherent drama, is an essential sense of playfulness. Much like the iconic Björk at her peak, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. Even when she is breaking your heart apart, the listener nevertheless want to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
This exuberant energy shines clearly on the stirring piano-led song about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for more than four moments. Suddenly, everything falls away, and we hear a gleeful laugh followed by a comment before a hilariously over-the-top orchestral crescendo crashes in like comedic impact. The song immediately shifts to the frenetic single featuring galloping strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from the artist Björk.
"The magic with Lux lies in the listener never exactly know—nor want to predict—what it will go next."
Nearly each song ends in a totally different place from how it started. One moment examines the fleeting nature of fame with a delicate orchestration before collapsing into electronic cacophony. Another, a song that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic work begins off moody and sinister, featuring menacing vocals, before sudden flamenco handclaps and a heavenly chorus enter to soften the song's jagged edges.
The Balance Between Art & Accessibility
Another crucial achievement of the album involves navigating the gap of radical innovation and broad accessibility. This is little coincidence that it has become her first work to crack the Top 5 of major markets: its heart contains a suite of utterly undeniable pop songs. One track performed entirely in English swells around a chorus that feels to gather increasingly infectious melodies while it spirals upward. That feat is echoed by a different powerful ballad that grows and constricts, weaving layered tunes like an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song charms with its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it shares with cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak anthems, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the singing carry a painted-on edge, like a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
Lux is pop on a grand level, a hungry grasp for high artistry in an era of impending AI-generated sameness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of glorious transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its built-in excess. This is a deep well of hidden gems that takes patience to completely explore but never seem like hard work. Where some major releases of the year felt like feasting on meal, Lux is a lavish feast at which the characters at it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter from discussions about ancient figures, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and common gossip about useless men. It is a contemporary musical from music's truly endlessly creative practitioner.
