Initially, this album may look closer to a difficult scholarly examination rather than the latest popular music album by a musician who just had a last single was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Divided across four different sections and voiced in 13 languages, this is a breathtaking classical-tinged opus exploring female mystery, spiritual ascent, and corporal transformation, often through the perspective of different women saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme handled with raw openness elsewhere—is shot skyward on this record, buoyed by the constant presence of a full orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter among an extensive list of collaborators. Its sheer audacity by itself renders the efforts of contemporary artists look quite modest.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
The fact that this album succeeds in transcend dry academic chin-stroking is nearly a miracle, and full credit going to Rosalía. Although this is not the first time album to alchemize historical sounds and modern styles, its stakes feel much greater here, and the balancing act more precarious. The element that really elevates this fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and inherent theatricality, proves to be a core sense of joy. Much like the legendary Björk during her peak, you find a captivating sense to the vocalist's singing which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. Even when she's tearing your heart in two, you nevertheless want to stay right there for the ride.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
That playful spirit shines brightly during the stirring Italian ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over several moments. Then, all the music falls away, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh followed by a declaration before a hilariously over-the-top orchestral surge crashes down with comedic force. The track then shifts to the wild single featuring galloping strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo role from none other than herself.
"The magic with Lux lies in the listener never quite know—or even wish to predict—where it will go next."
Nearly every song concludes in a totally different place than how it started. One moment explores the fleeting nature of celebrity over a delicate orchestration before disintegrating in electronic chaos. Another, a cut echoing her previous rhythmic work starts off dark and sinister, featuring prowling beats, before fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften the song's rough edges.
The Balance Of Experiment & Pop
Another crucial balancing act of the album involves navigating the gap between radical experimentation and mainstream accessibility. This is little surprise that the album has become the artist's first release to crack the Top 5 of key markets: at its core a suite of truly catchy pop songs. One track sung primarily in the English language swells around a chorus that seems to gather more and more nagging hooks as it spins upward. This feat gets echoed on another powerful ballad that grows and constricts, weaving layered tunes like a complex weave.
- A waltz-like number seduces with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the cultural honesty of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting a former lover described as an "psychological bully".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on smile, akin to a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
Lux is popular music on a maximalist level, a hungry reach for high artistry amid of impending artificial sameness. It rejects self-absorption for sublime transcendence, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully manages its built-in excess. This is an abundant well of buried treasure that requires time to fully mine but doesn't feels like a chore. While other big releases of the year felt like feasting on meal, Lux is a lavish feast where the guests around the table, perhaps intoxicated on sacred wine, flit from conversations about ancient saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about hopeless men. It is a modern-day musical from pop's most endlessly creative practitioner.
