At first glance, this album may look more like a difficult academic examination than the latest popular music record by a musician whose previous hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop star. Broken into four distinct parts and performed in 13 languages, it is a head-spinning classical-tinged opus that delves into female mystery, spiritual ascent, and physical transformation, often by way of the prism of different saintly figures. The end of a love affair—a theme handled with raw openness elsewhere—is launched heavenward here, buoyed by the constant presence of a major orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a long list of collaborators. Its sheer audacity alone makes the work of other artists seem quite laughable.
Transcending Academic Exercise
That Lux succeeds in avoid overly academic posturing is almost miraculous, and complete praise belonging to Rosalía. While this is not her first album to alchemize the past and modern styles, its scale feel much higher on Lux, and the balancing act far more pronounced. What truly raises her fourth album, beyond its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential spirit of fun. Much like the legendary artist during her peak, you find a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. When she is tearing hearts apart, you nevertheless want to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Prime Moment of Joy
That exuberant energy shines clearly during the stirring piano-led song about Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over several moments. Then, everything falls away, and there's a spontaneous laugh followed by a comment before a comically exaggerated orchestral crescendo thuds in like cartoonish impact. The song then segues into the wild track driven by galloping orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise role from none other than herself.
"The charm of Lux lies in you never exactly understand—or even want to predict—where you is going next."
Almost every song ends in a totally distinct point from where it began. A track explores the fleeting nature of fame over a featherlight orchestration only to collapsing in digital cacophony. Another, a cut echoing the artist's previous rhythmic work starts off moody and brooding, featuring prowling beats, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir enter to soften its jagged corners.
The Balance Between Experiment and Accessibility
A key achievement of the album involves straddling the gap of radical experimentation and broad appeal. It is little surprise that it has become the artist's highest-charting work to break into the Top 5 of major markets: at its core a collection of truly catchy hits. A song sung primarily in English swells around a refrain that seems to gather more and more nagging melodies as it spirals skyward. This trick gets repeated on another powerful track that expands and constricts, weaving multiple melodies like a complex weave.
- A dance-infused song charms via its jaunty, theatrical drama and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares with cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak anthems, eviscerating a former lover labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across the album, the vocals have a painted-on smile, like a storybook character concealing a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
Lux is popular music on a maximalist scale, an ambitious grasp for high artistry in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic spectacle that skillfully manages its inherent excess. This is an abundant well of buried gems that takes time to completely mine but doesn't seem like a chore. While some big releases of the year seemed like feasting on meal, Lux is a lavish feast where the characters at it, perhaps tipsy on sacred wine, flit between discussions about ancient figures, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about hopeless men. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from music's truly endlessly inventive practitioner.
