On the surface, Lux might appear more like an arduous university challenge than the latest pop album from a musician who just had a last single was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Broken into 4 different sections and voiced in thirteen languages, this is a head-spinning orchestral-influenced opus investigating female mystique, spiritual ascent, and corporal change, often through the prism of various women saints. The end of a relationship—a theme treated with raw honesty elsewhere—is shot upwards here, carried by the lush presence of a full orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter within a vast list of collaborators. Its sheer daring alone makes the efforts of contemporary artists look quite small.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
The fact that Lux manages to transcend overly intellectual posturing is nearly a miracle, and complete praise belonging to Rosalía. While this is not her first album to blend the past with modern styles, its ambitions are much greater on Lux, with the balancing act more dramatic. What really elevates this fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, dense arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of joy. Much like the iconic artist at her peak, you find a captivating sense to the vocalist's voice that pulls you into its tornado. When she's tearing your heart apart, you nevertheless want to be alongside her for the ride.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
This exuberant spirit comes forth brightly during the stirring piano-led ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for several moments. Suddenly, everything drops silent, to reveal we hear a gleeful giggle followed by a comment prior to a comically over-the-top string surge thuds in like cartoonish impact. The track then segues to the frenetic track featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo appearance from the artist Björk.
"The magic of this album lies in the listener never quite know—or even wish to know—where you is going next."
Nearly each track concludes at a totally distinct point than how it began. A track examines the fleeting nature of fame with a delicate symphony only to collapsing into electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her earlier rhythmic style starts off dark and brooding, featuring prowling beats, until fluttering flamenco rhythms and an angelic chorus enter to smooth the song's rough edges.
The Balance Between Art & Accessibility
A key achievement on the album involves navigating the line between radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. It is no surprise that the album has become her first release to crack the Top 5 of key charts: at its core a collection of truly catchy pop songs. One track performed entirely in English swells on a chorus that feels to collect more and more nagging melodies while it spirals skyward. This feat is repeated by a different expansive track that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple tunes as a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused song seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it aligns with pop culture impact of other heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a sharp edge, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You have the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
Lux is pop on a grand level, a hungry reach for high artistry amid of looming artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime elevation, creating a dramatic spectacle that masterfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. It is an abundant well of buried gems that takes patience to completely mine but doesn't feels like hard work. Where some big pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on meal, Lux offers a lavish banquet at which the guests around the table, perhaps intoxicated on sacred drink, flit from conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about hopeless men. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's most endlessly inventive visionary.
