Initially, this work could seem closer to a difficult academic challenge rather than the latest popular music record from a musician who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop star. Divided into 4 distinct parts and voiced in thirteen languages, we have a dizzying symphonic album exploring female mystery, religious transcendence, and physical transformation, often through the prism of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme handled with raw honesty elsewhere—soars skyward here, buoyed by the lush presence of a major orchestra and contributions from an award-winning songwriter within a long list of contributors. Its sheer daring alone makes the work of contemporary pop stars appear quite laughable.
Transcending Academic Pretense
The fact that Lux manages to transcend overly academic chin-stroking feels nearly miraculous, and complete credit belonging to Rosalía. While it's not her first album to fuse historical sounds and modern styles, the ambitions feel much higher on Lux, and the tightrope walk more dramatic. The element that really raises her fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, rich compositions, and inherent theatricality, is a core sense of fun. Much like the iconic Björk at her peak, there is a captivating quality to Rosalía's voice that pulls you into its whirlwind. When she is tearing hearts apart, the listener nevertheless desire to be alongside her through the journey.
A Signature Moment of Joy
This playful spirit comes forth brightly on the stirring Italian song about a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy over several minutes. Suddenly, everything drops away, and we hear a spontaneous giggle followed by a declaration prior to a comically exaggerated string crescendo thuds down like comedic force. The song immediately shifts to the wild track featuring racing strings, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist Björk.
"The charm with Lux lies in you never exactly know—nor want to know—where it will go next."
Nearly each track finishes in a totally different place than how it started. One moment examines the fleeting nature of fame with a featherlight symphony before disintegrating into digital chaos. Another, a song that recalls her previous trap-infused style begins off moody and sinister, with menacing vocals, before fluttering traditional handclaps and an angelic choir enter to smooth the song's jagged corners.
The Balance Between Art and Pop
A key balancing act of Lux is navigating the gap between radical innovation and mainstream appeal. It is little coincidence that it has become the artist's first release to crack the Top 5 of major markets: at its core a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. A song performed entirely in the English language builds on a refrain that seems to gather increasingly infectious hooks while it spirals upward. That feat gets repeated by a different expansive ballad that expands and contracts, weaving multiple melodies as an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it aligns with pop culture honesty of other heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former lover labeled an "emotional bully".
- Across the album, the singing have a sharp edge, like a storybook character hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for capital-A Art amid of impending AI-generated blankness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of glorious transcendence, crafting an over-the-top drama that masterfully controls its inherent excess. It is a deep well of hidden gems that takes time to completely mine but doesn't feels like a chore. While other major releases of the year felt like a meager meal, Lux offers a lavish banquet where the characters around it, perhaps intoxicated on holy drink, flutter between conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and shared gossip about useless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from pop's most endlessly creative visionary.
