On the surface, this album could seem closer to a difficult university challenge than a new pop record by a musician whose previous single was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Divided across 4 different movements and sung in thirteen languages, this is a breathtaking orchestral-influenced album exploring female mystique, spiritual transcendence, and bodily transformation, frequently via the lens of various saintly figures. The end of a romance—a theme treated with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot upwards on this record, supported by the constant presence of a full symphony orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning composer among an extensive list of collaborators. The pure daring by itself makes the efforts of contemporary artists look quite modest.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
That Lux succeeds in transcend dry intellectual posturing feels almost a miracle, with sole credit going to Rosalía. While it's not her first project to alchemize historical sounds and the present, its stakes feel far higher here, with the balancing act more pronounced. What really raises her fourth album, beyond its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, proves to be an essential sense of fun. Similar to the iconic Björk during her peak, there is a captivating sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. When she's tearing your heart in two, the listener still desire to be right there through the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
This playful spirit shines clearly during the stirring piano-led song about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four moments. Suddenly, all the music drops away, and we hear a spontaneous laugh followed by a comment before a hilariously over-the-top string surge crashes down like comedic force. The track then segues to the frenetic single featuring racing strings, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from none other than herself.
"The charm with this album is that you rarely exactly understand—or even want to know—where you is going to next."
Nearly every track concludes in a completely different point from where it began. A track explores the transient nature of fame over a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her previous trap-infused style begins out dark and brooding, featuring menacing vocals, before fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly chorus enter to smooth its rough corners.
The Bridge Of Experiment and Pop
Another crucial achievement of Lux involves navigating the gap of bold innovation and broad accessibility. It is no surprise that the album has achieved the artist's first work to crack the upper reaches of major markets: at its core a collection of truly catchy hits. A song sung primarily in the English language swells on a chorus that seems to gather more and more infectious hooks while it spins skyward. That feat is repeated on a different powerful ballad that expands and constricts, weaving multiple tunes as an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like number seduces via its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it shares with cultural honesty of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting an ex- partner described as an "psychological bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals carry a painted-on edge, like a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a maximalist level, a hungry reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its built-in excess. This is an abundant well of buried treasure that takes patience to completely mine but never seem like hard work. Where other big pop albums of the year felt like feasting on meal, this record is a lavish feast at which the characters around the table, some tipsy on holy wine, flit between discussions about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common gossip about hopeless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's most endlessly creative practitioner.
