On the surface, Lux might appear closer to an arduous scholarly challenge than the latest popular music record from an artist whose previous single was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Broken across four distinct movements and sung in thirteen languages, this is a breathtaking orchestral-influenced work investigating female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and bodily change, often via the perspective of different saintly figures. The end of a relationship—a topic treated with raw honesty elsewhere—is launched upwards here, buoyed by the lush presence of a major symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning composer among a long list of contributors. Its sheer daring alone makes the efforts of contemporary artists look quite laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
That this album succeeds in transcend dry academic chin-stroking feels nothing short of a miracle, and full credit belonging to Rosalía. While this is not the first time album to fuse historical sounds and modern styles, its stakes are much greater on Lux, with the balancing act more dramatic. What truly raises her fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, dense compositions, and engrained theatricality, is a core spirit of playfulness. Similar to the legendary Björk during her peak, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls the listener up in its tornado. Even when she is breaking hearts in two, the listener still desire to stay alongside her for the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
That exuberant spirit shines clearly during a stirring piano-led song about Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy for several minutes. Then, all the music drops away, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh and a comment before a comically over-the-top string crescendo thuds in like comedic impact. The track then shifts to the frenetic single featuring racing strings, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist herself.
"The magic of this album is that you rarely exactly know—nor wish to know—where it is going next."
Nearly every song concludes at a completely different point from where it started. A track explores the fleeting trappings of celebrity over a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating into digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut echoing her earlier trap-infused work starts out dark and sinister, with prowling vocals, until sudden traditional handclaps and an angelic choir enter to smooth its jagged edges.
The Bridge Between Experiment and Accessibility
A key achievement of the album is navigating the line of bold experimentation and mainstream accessibility. It is no surprise that the album has become her highest-charting work to break into the Top 5 of key markets: at its core a collection of utterly catchy hits. One track sung primarily in the English language builds on a chorus that feels to collect more and more nagging hooks while it spins upward. This feat gets repeated by a different powerful ballad that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies like an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like song charms via its playful, theatrical flair and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it shares the cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak anthems, lambasting an ex- partner labeled an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing have a sharp edge, like a fairy-tale character concealing a knife: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You've the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
This album represents pop on a grand level, a hungry reach for capital-A Art in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It rejects self-absorption for sublime transcendence, crafting an over-the-top drama that masterfully controls its own inherent excess. It is a deep well of buried gems that requires time to fully explore but never seem like a chore. While some big pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, this record is a lavish banquet where the characters at it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred wine, flutter between conversations about ancient saints, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from music's most endlessly inventive visionary.
