Initially, Lux might appear closer to a challenging academic challenge than a new pop album by a musician who just had a previous hit featured an international pop star. Broken across four distinct movements and performed in thirteen tongues, this is a head-spinning symphonic album investigating female mystique, spiritual ascent, and bodily change, frequently through the perspective of various female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a topic handled with raw honesty elsewhere—is shot skyward on this record, carried by the constant sound of a full orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter within an extensive list of contributors. Its sheer daring alone makes the work of contemporary artists appear rather modest.
Transcending Academic Exercise
That this album succeeds in avoid dry academic chin-stroking is almost a miracle, and sole credit going to Rosalía. While it's not her first project to blend historical sounds and modern styles, its stakes feel much greater here, with the balancing act far more precarious. What really raises her fourth album, beyond its complex melodies, dense arrangements, and inherent drama, is a core spirit of joy. Much like the legendary Björk at her height, you find a wondrous quality to the vocalist's singing which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. Even when she's tearing hearts apart, you still desire to stay right there for the journey.
A Prime Example of Joy
This exuberant energy comes forth brightly during the stirring Italian ballad inspired by a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four moments. Suddenly, everything falls away, and we hear a spontaneous giggle followed by a comment before a comically exaggerated string crescendo crashes in like comedic force. The track immediately segues to the frenetic single driven by racing orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a surprise appearance from the artist herself.
"The charm of Lux is that you rarely exactly know—or even want to predict—what it is going to next."
Nearly each song finishes at a totally distinct place than how it began. One moment examines the fleeting nature of celebrity with a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing the artist's previous rhythmic style begins out moody and brooding, with menacing beats, until sudden flamenco handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften the song's rough edges.
The Balance Between Art & Pop
A key balancing act on the album is straddling the gap of bold innovation and mainstream accessibility. This is little surprise that the album has achieved her first work to crack the upper reaches of key charts: at its core a suite of utterly undeniable hits. One track sung primarily in the English language swells around a refrain that seems to collect increasingly infectious melodies as it spins skyward. That trick is repeated by a different expansive track that expands and contracts, weaving multiple tunes like an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song seduces via its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares with cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak anthems, lambasting an ex- partner described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Across the album, the vocals have a painted-on smile, like a fairy-tale character concealing a blade: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a grand level, an ambitious reach for high artistry in an era of impending artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. This is an abundant source of hidden gems that requires patience to fully explore but doesn't feels like hard work. While other major releases of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, Lux is a sumptuous feast where the characters at the table, some tipsy on holy wine, flit from discussions about historical saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared gossip about hopeless men. It is a modern-day theatrical production from pop's truly endlessly inventive visionary.
