On the surface, this work may look more like an arduous university examination rather than the latest pop record by a musician whose last hit featured an international K-pop star. Split into four distinct parts and performed in 13 languages, this is a head-spinning classical-tinged work investigating female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and bodily transformation, often by way of the lens of various saintly figures. The end of a relationship—a theme handled with raw openness elsewhere—is launched heavenward on this record, carried by the lush sound of a major orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter within an extensive list of collaborators. The pure ambition by itself makes the work of contemporary pop stars look rather laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
That this album succeeds in escape overly academic chin-stroking is nearly miraculous, with complete credit belonging to Rosalía. While this is not her first album to fuse historical sounds with modern styles, the ambitions feel far greater on Lux, with the balancing act more precarious. The element that truly elevates this fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, is an essential spirit of joy. Similar to the legendary Björk at her peak, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener into its whirlwind. When she's breaking hearts apart, you nevertheless want to be alongside her for the ride.
A Signature Example of Exuberance
That playful spirit comes forth brightly on the stunning piano-led song inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy over several minutes. Suddenly, everything falls silent, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh followed by a comment prior to a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo crashes down with cartoonish impact. The song then segues to the wild single driven by racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from none other than herself.
"The charm with this album is that you never quite understand—nor wish to predict—where it is going to next."
Nearly every song finishes in a completely different place from where it began. One moment explores the fleeting nature of celebrity with a featherlight symphony before collapsing in electronic cacophony. Another, a cut echoing the artist's previous trap-infused style starts off dark and sinister, with prowling beats, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and a heavenly choir enter to smooth its jagged corners.
The Balance Of Experiment & Accessibility
A key achievement of the album involves straddling the gap of radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. It is little coincidence that the album has become the artist's first release to break into the upper reaches of major charts: at its core a collection of utterly undeniable hits. A song performed primarily in English swells around a refrain that seems to gather increasingly nagging melodies while it spirals skyward. That trick gets repeated on a different powerful track that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song seduces via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns the pop culture honesty of contemporary heartbreak songs, lambasting a former partner described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the singing have a painted-on edge, like a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You have the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
Lux is pop on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for high Art in an era of impending artificial sameness. It eschews solipsism in favor of glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully controls its own built-in excess. It is an abundant well of hidden gems that takes time to completely explore but never feels like hard work. Where other major releases of the year felt like feasting on scraps, Lux is a sumptuous banquet at which the characters around it, perhaps tipsy on sacred wine, flit from discussions about historical figures, the profound sensation of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about hopeless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's most restlessly creative visionary.
