At first glance, this work may look more like a challenging academic examination than a new popular music record by an artist who just had a previous hit featured an international pop star. Split across four different sections and performed in thirteen languages, we have a head-spinning classical-tinged opus exploring female mystique, spiritual transcendence, and bodily transformation, often by way of the perspective of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—soars upwards on this record, buoyed by the constant sound of a major symphony orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning composer within a vast list of contributors. Its sheer audacity alone renders the work of contemporary pop stars seem quite small.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
That Lux manages to avoid overly intellectual chin-stroking is nearly miraculous, with sole credit going to Rosalía. While this is not the first time album to fuse the past with modern styles, its ambitions feel much higher on Lux, with the balancing act far more precarious. The element that truly elevates her fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, dense compositions, and inherent theatricality, proves to be a core spirit of joy. Similar to the legendary Björk at her peak, you find a wondrous quality to the vocalist's singing that pulls the listener into its whirlwind. When she's tearing hearts in two, the listener still desire to stay right there through the ride.
A Signature Example of Joy
That exuberant spirit shines brightly on a stunning piano-led ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over several moments. Suddenly, everything falls silent, and we hear a gleeful giggle followed by a comment before a comically over-the-top string crescendo thuds in like cartoonish force. The track immediately segues into the frenetic single featuring galloping strings, a powerful choir, and a surprise role from the artist herself.
"The magic with this album is that the listener never exactly understand—or even want to know—what you is going next."
Almost every track ends at a completely distinct place than where it started. One moment explores the fleeting trappings of celebrity with a delicate orchestration before collapsing in electronic cacophony. Another, a song that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused style starts off moody and brooding, featuring menacing beats, until fluttering traditional handclaps and an angelic choir enter to soften the song's rough corners.
The Bridge Between Art and Pop
A key achievement of the album involves straddling the line between radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. It is little surprise that it has become the artist's highest-charting work to break into the upper reaches of major markets: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable hits. One track performed primarily in the English language swells around a chorus that seems to collect increasingly infectious hooks as it spins upward. This feat gets echoed by a different expansive track that expands and constricts, intertwining multiple melodies as an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms with its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns the cultural honesty of contemporary heartbreak songs, lambasting an ex- partner described as an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the vocals carry a sharp smile, akin to a storybook figure hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album is popular music on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for high Art in an era of looming artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime elevation, creating a dramatic spectacle that masterfully manages its own inherent excess. It is a deep source of hidden gems that requires patience to completely explore but doesn't feels like a chore. While other big pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on meal, Lux is a lavish banquet where the guests at it, some tipsy on sacred wine, flutter between discussions about historical figures, the profound feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and common stories about useless men. It is a contemporary musical from pop's most restlessly inventive practitioner.
