On the surface, Lux may look closer to an arduous scholarly examination rather than the latest pop album by a musician whose last hit was a collaboration with an international pop star. Split into four separate parts and sung in 13 tongues, this is a head-spinning classical-tinged album investigating female mystique, spiritual transcendence, and bodily change, often by way of the perspective of various saintly figures. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—is shot skyward here, buoyed by the constant presence of a major symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning composer within a long roll call of collaborators. The pure daring by itself makes the work of contemporary artists seem rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That this album succeeds in transcend overly intellectual posturing feels nearly a miracle, and full credit going to the artist. While it's not her first album to fuse the past and modern styles, its stakes feel much higher here, with the balancing act far more dramatic. What really raises her fourth release, outside of its multilayered melodies, dense arrangements, and engrained drama, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the iconic artist during her peak, there is a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener into its tornado. When she's tearing hearts apart, you still want to be right there through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Exuberance
That exuberant energy comes forth brightly on the stunning piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over more than four minutes. Suddenly, everything drops away, to reveal there's a gleeful laugh and a comment prior to a hilariously over-the-top string surge crashes down like cartoonish impact. The song then segues into the wild track featuring racing orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a surprise appearance from none other than herself.
"The magic of Lux lies in the listener never exactly understand—nor want to know—where it is going to next."
Almost every song ends in a completely different place than how it began. One moment examines the transient nature of fame with a featherlight orchestration only to collapsing in electronic chaos. Another, a song that recalls her earlier trap-infused work begins out dark and brooding, with prowling beats, before fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly chorus arrive to smooth its rough edges.
The Bridge Between Art and Accessibility
A key balancing act on Lux involves navigating the line of bold experimentation and mainstream accessibility. This is little surprise that the album has become her highest-charting release to crack the upper reaches of key charts: at its core a collection of truly catchy pop songs. A song performed entirely in English swells around a refrain that feels to collect more and more infectious hooks as it spins skyward. That trick gets repeated on another expansive track that expands and constricts, weaving layered tunes like a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it aligns the cultural impact of other breakup songs, lambasting an ex- lover described as an "psychological terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a sharp smile, akin to a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
This album represents popular music on a grand level, an ambitious grasp for capital-A Art in an era of looming artificial blankness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that skillfully controls its own built-in ridiculousness. This is an abundant source of hidden treasure that requires patience to completely mine but doesn't feels like a chore. While some big releases of the year seemed like feasting on meal, Lux offers a lavish banquet where the guests at it, some intoxicated on holy wine, flutter from discussions about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common gossip about hopeless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from pop's truly endlessly inventive visionary.
