On the surface, this album may look more like a challenging scholarly challenge rather than the latest popular music project from an artist whose previous hit was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Divided into 4 separate movements and voiced in 13 languages, this is a dizzying orchestral-influenced album investigating female mystery, religious ascent, and physical transformation, frequently through the perspective of various female saints. The end of a romance—a theme handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—is launched upwards here, supported by the constant presence of a major orchestra and contributions from an award-winning songwriter within a long roll call of contributors. Its sheer ambition alone makes the work of contemporary artists seem rather small.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that this album succeeds in escape overly intellectual chin-stroking is nothing short of a miracle, and complete credit belonging to Rosalía. Although this is not the first time album to alchemize the past with modern styles, its scale feel much higher here, with the tightrope walk far more dramatic. The element that truly elevates her fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential sense of joy. Much like the legendary Björk during her peak, you find a captivating quality to the vocalist's voice that pulls the listener into its tornado. Even when she's tearing your heart apart, the listener still desire to be right there for the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
That playful spirit comes forth brightly on a stunning Italian song about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops away, and we hear a spontaneous giggle and a declaration before a comically exaggerated orchestral surge thuds in like cartoonish impact. The track then shifts into the wild track featuring racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from none other than herself.
"The magic of this album is that you never quite understand—or even want to predict—what you will go to next."
Almost every track concludes in a totally distinct point from how it started. A track explores the transient nature of fame over a delicate symphony only to collapsing into digital cacophony. Another, a song echoing the artist's previous rhythmic work starts out moody and sinister, with menacing beats, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and a heavenly chorus enter to smooth its rough corners.
The Balance Of Art and Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act of Lux involves navigating the line of bold experimentation and mainstream accessibility. This is little surprise that it has become her highest-charting work to break into the Top 5 of key markets: at its core a suite of utterly undeniable hits. A song performed primarily in the English language swells on a chorus that seems to collect more and more nagging hooks as it spins skyward. That feat gets echoed on a different expansive track that grows and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies like an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused number charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it aligns with pop culture impact of contemporary breakup songs, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "psychological bully".
- Throughout the album, the vocals carry a sharp edge, akin to a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You've the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
Lux is popular music on a maximalist level, an ambitious grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of looming AI-generated blankness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully manages its inherent ridiculousness. It is a deep well of hidden gems that takes patience to completely explore but doesn't feels like a chore. While some major releases of the year seemed like a meager scraps, Lux is a sumptuous feast where the guests around it, some intoxicated on holy drink, flutter between conversations about historical figures, the profound sensation of heartbreaking grief, and common gossip about hopeless partners. It is a contemporary musical from music's truly restlessly creative practitioner.
