At first glance, this album could seem closer to a challenging university challenge than the latest pop project from an artist whose last single featured an international pop star. Split into four distinct sections and voiced in 13 tongues, this is a head-spinning classical-tinged opus investigating female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and physical transformation, often through the perspective of various women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme handled with grounded openness elsewhere—is launched heavenward on this record, buoyed by the constant sound of a full symphony orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among an extensive roll call of collaborators. The pure ambition by itself makes the efforts of other pop stars seem rather laughable.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That Lux succeeds in transcend dry intellectual chin-stroking is nearly miraculous, and full praise belonging to Rosalía. Although this is not the first time album to alchemize the past with the present, its scale feel far higher on Lux, and the balancing act far more precarious. The element that truly raises her fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, rich arrangements, and inherent drama, proves to be an essential spirit of fun. Much like the legendary artist during her height, you find a captivating sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls you up in its whirlwind. When she's tearing your heart apart, you nevertheless want to stay right there through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That playful energy comes forth brightly during the stunning piano-led ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for several minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls away, to reveal we hear a gleeful laugh and a declaration before a comically exaggerated string surge thuds in like comedic impact. The song then shifts to the wild single featuring galloping strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from the artist herself.
"The charm of Lux is that the listener rarely exactly know—or even wish to predict—what you will go to next."
Almost every track ends at a completely different place than where it began. One moment explores the fleeting trappings of fame with a featherlight symphony only to collapsing in electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's previous rhythmic work starts off dark and brooding, with menacing beats, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir enter to soften its jagged corners.
The Bridge Between Art and Pop
Another crucial balancing act on the album is navigating the line of radical innovation and broad accessibility. This is little surprise that it has become her first release to break into the Top 5 of key markets: at its core a collection of utterly undeniable hits. A song sung entirely in the English language builds around a chorus that seems to gather more and more nagging hooks while it spirals upward. This feat is echoed on another powerful track that grows and constricts, weaving layered tunes as a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like number seduces via its playful, theatrical flair and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns the pop culture impact of other heartbreak songs, eviscerating an ex- lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on smile, akin to a storybook character hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You have the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
Lux represents popular music on a maximalist level, a hungry reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious elevation, creating an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its own inherent excess. It is a deep well of hidden treasure that takes time to fully explore but doesn't feels like a chore. While some major pop albums of the year seemed like a meager scraps, this record is a lavish banquet where the characters at it, some intoxicated on holy wine, flit from discussions about ancient saints, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and shared gossip about hopeless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly endlessly inventive practitioner.
