At first glance, this album might appear closer to a challenging scholarly quiz rather than a new pop project by an artist who just had a last hit featured an international pop icon. Divided across 4 separate movements and performed in thirteen languages, this is a head-spinning symphonic album that delves into feminine mystique, spiritual ascent, and physical transformation, often by way of the perspective of different female saints. The end of a romance—a topic handled with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot skyward on this record, supported by the lush sound of a full orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter among a vast list of contributors. The pure audacity alone renders the work of other artists appear quite modest.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
The fact that Lux succeeds in avoid dry intellectual chin-stroking is almost miraculous, and sole praise belonging to Rosalía. While this is not the first time album to alchemize the past with modern styles, its scale are much higher here, with the tightrope walk far more pronounced. What truly raises this fourth release, beyond its complex tunes, rich compositions, and inherent drama, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the iconic Björk at her height, there is a captivating quality to the vocalist's voice which sweeps you into its tornado. Even when she is tearing your heart in two, the listener still want to be alongside her for the ride.
A Signature Example of Joy
This playful spirit shines brightly on the stunning piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls away, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh followed by a comment before a comically over-the-top string surge thuds down like cartoonish impact. The track immediately shifts into the frenetic track driven by galloping strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The charm of this album is that the listener never quite understand—nor wish to know—where it is going next."
Nearly every song ends at a completely different place than where it began. One moment examines the transient trappings of celebrity over a delicate symphony only to collapsing in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused work begins out dark and brooding, with menacing vocals, until fluttering flamenco rhythms and an angelic chorus arrive to soften the song's rough corners.
The Bridge Between Art and Pop
A key balancing act on Lux is navigating the gap between bold innovation and mainstream accessibility. This is little surprise that it has achieved the artist's highest-charting release to break into the upper reaches of major charts: at its core a suite of truly catchy hits. A song sung entirely in the English language builds on a chorus that seems to collect more and more infectious melodies as it spins skyward. This trick is repeated on another expansive track that grows and contracts, intertwining layered melodies like an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused number seduces via its jaunty, theatrical flair and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it aligns with cultural honesty of other heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former lover described as an "psychological bully".
- Across the album, the singing carry a painted-on edge, akin to a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You've the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Soul
This album is pop on a grand level, an ambitious reach for high Art amid of looming AI-generated blankness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious transcendence, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully controls its own built-in excess. This is a deep source of buried treasure that requires patience to completely explore but doesn't seem like a chore. While some big pop albums of the year felt like a meager scraps, this record offers a sumptuous banquet at which the guests at the table, some intoxicated on sacred drink, flit from conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about useless partners. It is a modern-day musical from music's most restlessly creative visionary.
