On the surface, this album could seem more like a challenging university quiz than the latest pop album by a musician who just had a last single was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Split into 4 separate sections and voiced in thirteen tongues, we have a breathtaking orchestral-influenced work exploring female mystery, spiritual ascent, and physical transformation, frequently via the lens of various saintly figures. The end of a romance—a topic treated with raw openness elsewhere—is launched skyward here, buoyed by the constant presence of a major orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a long list of contributors. The pure daring by itself renders the efforts of other pop stars seem rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to transcend overly academic posturing feels almost miraculous, and full credit going to Rosalía. While it's not her first project to blend the past with modern styles, its ambitions are far greater on Lux, and the tightrope walk far more dramatic. The element that truly raises her fourth release, beyond its complex melodies, dense compositions, and inherent theatricality, is a core sense of fun. Much like the iconic Björk during her peak, you find a wondrous sense to the vocalist's voice which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. When she's tearing hearts apart, you still want to be alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Example of Joy
This exuberant spirit comes forth brightly during a stirring piano-led song about a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy for several moments. Then, all the music falls silent, and we hear a spontaneous laugh followed by a comment before a comically over-the-top orchestral crescendo thuds down with cartoonish force. The track then segues into the frenetic single featuring racing strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than herself.
"The magic of Lux lies in you never quite know—nor wish to know—where you will go to next."
Almost each song concludes at a totally distinct point from how it started. A track examines the fleeting trappings of celebrity with a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic style begins off dark and sinister, featuring menacing beats, before fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly choir arrive to soften its rough corners.
The Balance Of Art & Pop
Another crucial achievement of Lux involves straddling the gap of radical innovation and mainstream appeal. It is no surprise that the album has become the artist's first release to break into the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable pop songs. One track sung primarily in English swells on a refrain that seems to collect more and more infectious hooks as it spins upward. This feat is echoed on a different powerful track that grows and constricts, weaving multiple melodies as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like number charms with its jaunty, theatrical flair and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns with pop culture honesty of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting a former lover labeled an "psychological bully".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a sharp smile, like a fairy-tale character concealing a knife: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a maximalist scale, a hungry grasp for high Art amid of impending artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of sublime transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its inherent ridiculousness. This is an abundant well of hidden treasure that requires time to fully mine but doesn't seem like hard work. While other big releases of the year seemed like a meager meal, Lux offers a lavish feast where the guests around the table, some tipsy on sacred wine, flit between discussions about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common stories about useless men. It is a modern-day musical from music's most restlessly creative visionary.
