Initially, this album might appear more like an arduous university examination than a new pop album from an artist whose last hit featured a global K-pop star. Split across four separate sections and voiced in 13 languages, we have a head-spinning symphonic work investigating female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and corporal transformation, frequently by way of the perspective of various women saints. The dissolution of a romance—a theme handled with raw openness elsewhere—is launched skyward on this record, carried by the constant presence of a full orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter among an extensive list of contributors. The pure ambition alone makes the efforts of contemporary pop stars seem rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that this album succeeds in avoid dry academic chin-stroking is nothing short of a miracle, and sole praise going to Rosalía. While it's not her first project to fuse the past and the present, the ambitions are far higher here, and the tightrope walk more precarious. The element that really raises this fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, dense compositions, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential spirit of joy. Much like the iconic Björk at her peak, there is a wondrous sense to the vocalist's voice that pulls the listener into its tornado. When she is breaking hearts in two, you nevertheless desire to be right there through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Exuberance
That exuberant energy comes forth clearly on the stirring Italian song inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy for several moments. Suddenly, all the music falls silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous giggle and a comment before a hilariously exaggerated orchestral crescendo crashes in with comedic force. The song then shifts to the frenetic track featuring galloping orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise role from none other than Björk.
"The magic with Lux is that you rarely exactly know—or even wish to know—what it will go to next."
Nearly every song ends in a totally distinct point from how it started. One moment examines the transient trappings of celebrity over a featherlight symphony before collapsing into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's earlier rhythmic work starts off dark and brooding, featuring prowling beats, until sudden traditional rhythms and an angelic choir enter to smooth its rough edges.
The Balance Of Art and Accessibility
A key achievement on Lux is navigating the gap of radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. This is no surprise that it has achieved her highest-charting release to break into the Top 5 of major charts: at its core a suite of truly undeniable pop songs. A song sung entirely in English swells around a refrain that seems to collect more and more nagging hooks as it spirals upward. This trick is repeated on a different expansive track that expands and constricts, weaving layered melodies like an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares the cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former lover labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across the album, the vocals carry a sharp smile, akin to a storybook figure hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
This album represents pop on a grand level, an ambitious reach for high artistry in an era of looming artificial blankness. It rejects self-absorption for glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its own inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of hidden treasure that takes time to fully mine but doesn't feels like a chore. Where some major releases of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, Lux offers a sumptuous feast where the guests at the table, perhaps tipsy on holy wine, flutter between discussions about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and shared stories about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly endlessly inventive practitioner.
