Initially, Lux might appear closer to a challenging university challenge rather than the latest popular music project by a musician who just had a previous hit featured a global pop star. Divided into 4 different sections and sung in thirteen languages, it is a breathtaking orchestral-influenced opus exploring female mystery, religious transcendence, and physical change, often through the lens of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a relationship—a topic treated with raw openness elsewhere—is launched heavenward here, supported by the lush presence of a full symphony orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning composer among a vast list of collaborators. Its sheer daring alone makes the work of contemporary artists seem rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That this album manages to avoid overly academic chin-stroking is nearly a miracle, and full credit belonging to Rosalía. While it's not the first time project to alchemize the past with modern styles, its ambitions feel far greater here, with the tightrope walk more precarious. What truly elevates her fourth release, beyond its multilayered tunes, dense compositions, and inherent theatricality, is an essential sense of fun. Similar to the iconic Björk at her height, you find a captivating sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls you up in its whirlwind. Even when she is tearing your heart in two, you nevertheless want to stay alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Joy
That exuberant spirit shines clearly on the stirring Italian song about a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy for more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls away, to reveal we hear a spontaneous laugh followed by a declaration prior to a comically over-the-top orchestral crescendo thuds in with comedic impact. The song then shifts into the wild single driven by galloping orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The magic of Lux is that the listener never quite understand—or even want to know—what it will go next."
Nearly each track finishes at a totally different place than where it began. One moment explores the transient trappings of fame with a delicate orchestration before collapsing into electronic cacophony. Another, a cut echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused style begins out moody and brooding, featuring prowling beats, before sudden flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir enter to smooth the song's rough edges.
The Bridge Between Art and Accessibility
A key achievement on the album is straddling the gap between radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. It is little coincidence that the album has become the artist's first release to crack the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable pop songs. A song performed entirely in English swells on a refrain that feels to gather more and more nagging hooks while it spirals upward. This trick is repeated on another expansive ballad that grows and constricts, weaving multiple tunes as a complex weave.
- A dance-infused song seduces via its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares the cultural impact of other breakup songs, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "psychological bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing carry a sharp edge, like a storybook character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
This album is popular music on a grand scale, a hungry reach for capital-A Art in an era of impending AI-generated sameness. It rejects solipsism in favor of glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully controls its own built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep well of hidden treasure that requires patience to fully mine but doesn't feels like a chore. Where some major pop albums of the year felt like a meager meal, this record is a sumptuous feast where the guests at it, some intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter from conversations about ancient saints, the profound sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and common gossip about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly endlessly inventive visionary.
