At first glance, Lux could seem closer to a difficult academic quiz than the latest popular music project by a musician who just had a last single was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Broken across four separate sections and performed in thirteen languages, this is a head-spinning orchestral-influenced album exploring feminine mystery, spiritual transcendence, and physical change, frequently by way of the perspective of different female saints. The end of a romance—a theme handled with raw openness elsewhere—is launched upwards here, carried by the constant presence of a full symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning composer within an extensive list of collaborators. Its sheer ambition alone makes the efforts of other artists seem rather laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
That Lux manages to avoid overly academic chin-stroking feels nothing short of miraculous, and full credit belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time album to fuse the past with the present, its scale feel much higher on Lux, with the tightrope walk more dramatic. The element that truly raises this fourth album, beyond its complex melodies, dense compositions, and engrained theatricality, proves to be a core sense of joy. Much like the legendary artist during her peak, there is a wondrous quality to the vocalist's singing which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. When she is tearing your heart in two, the listener nevertheless desire to stay right there through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Joy
That exuberant energy shines clearly during the stirring Italian song about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over several minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops silent, and we hear a spontaneous laugh followed by a declaration before a hilariously over-the-top string surge crashes down with comedic impact. The track immediately shifts to the frenetic single featuring galloping orchestration, an imposing choir, and a cameo role from the artist Björk.
"The charm with Lux lies in the listener rarely quite know—nor wish to predict—where you will go next."
Almost each song concludes at a totally different point from how it started. One moment explores the transient nature of fame with a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating into digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused work starts out dark and sinister, featuring prowling vocals, until fluttering traditional handclaps and an angelic choir arrive to soften the song's rough corners.
The Bridge Of Experiment and Pop
A key balancing act of Lux involves navigating the line between bold innovation and broad accessibility. This is no surprise that the album has achieved her highest-charting work to break into the upper reaches of key markets: at its core a suite of truly undeniable hits. A song sung entirely in the English language builds around a chorus that feels to collect increasingly infectious melodies as it spirals skyward. This trick is repeated on another expansive track that grows and constricts, weaving multiple tunes as a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns with pop culture impact of contemporary breakup songs, eviscerating an ex- partner described as an "psychological terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a sharp smile, like a storybook figure hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
Lux is pop on a maximalist scale, a hungry grasp for high Art in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It eschews solipsism for glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its own inherent excess. It is an abundant source of hidden gems that takes time to fully mine but doesn't feels like a chore. While some big pop albums of the year felt like a meager meal, this record is a sumptuous feast at which the guests around the table, perhaps tipsy on holy wine, flutter between discussions about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about hopeless partners. It is a modern-day theatrical production from pop's truly restlessly inventive visionary.
