On the surface, this work could seem more like a difficult academic examination than a new popular music record from a musician who just had a last single featured a global pop star. Broken across four different movements and voiced in thirteen languages, this is a breathtaking orchestral-influenced work investigating feminine mystique, spiritual ascent, and physical change, often via the perspective of different women saints. The end of a romance—a theme treated with raw honesty elsewhere—is launched heavenward on this record, supported by the lush sound of a major symphony orchestra and contributions from an award-winning songwriter within a vast list of contributors. Its sheer audacity alone renders the efforts of contemporary pop stars seem rather laughable.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
That Lux manages to transcend dry academic chin-stroking is almost a miracle, and sole praise belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not her first album to alchemize historical sounds and the present, its scale feel much higher here, with the balancing act far more pronounced. What truly raises her fourth release, beyond its complex tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, is an essential spirit of fun. Similar to the legendary artist at her peak, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. Even when she's breaking your heart apart, you nevertheless desire to stay right there through the ride.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
This playful energy shines brightly on the stunning piano-led ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool over several moments. Suddenly, everything drops away, to reveal there's a gleeful giggle followed by a comment prior to a comically exaggerated orchestral surge crashes in like comedic impact. The song immediately shifts into the wild single driven by galloping orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo appearance from the artist herself.
"The magic of Lux lies in you rarely exactly understand—nor want to know—where you is going next."
Nearly each track finishes in a completely distinct place from how it began. A track examines the transient nature of celebrity with a delicate orchestration before disintegrating in electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut echoing her previous trap-infused style begins off dark and sinister, with menacing vocals, until fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to smooth its rough edges.
The Bridge Between Art and Accessibility
A key balancing act on the album involves straddling the gap of bold innovation and broad appeal. This is no surprise that the album has achieved the artist's highest-charting work to break into the upper reaches of key markets: at its core a suite of utterly undeniable pop songs. One track sung entirely in the English language builds around a refrain that feels to gather more and more nagging hooks as it spins skyward. That feat gets echoed on another expansive ballad that expands and contracts, weaving multiple tunes as a complex weave.
- A waltz-like number seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it aligns with pop culture impact of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting a former lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout the album, the singing carry a painted-on edge, akin to a fairy-tale character concealing a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
Lux is pop on a grand scale, an ambitious grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of looming artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully controls its own built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep well of buried gems that requires time to completely mine but doesn't feels like a chore. While other big releases of the year seemed like feasting on meal, this record is a sumptuous banquet where the guests around the table, some intoxicated on sacred drink, flit between discussions about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and common gossip about hopeless partners. It is a contemporary theatrical production from pop's truly endlessly creative practitioner.
