At first glance, this work might appear more like an arduous academic challenge than the latest pop record by a musician who just had a previous single featured a global K-pop icon. Split across four different parts and voiced in thirteen languages, we have a head-spinning symphonic work exploring feminine mystique, spiritual ascent, and physical change, frequently through the prism of various saintly figures. The end of a romance—a topic treated with raw openness elsewhere—soars skyward on this record, buoyed by the lush presence of a full symphony orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a vast roll call of contributors. The pure daring alone makes the work of contemporary pop stars look quite small.
Transcending Academic Exercise
The fact that Lux succeeds in transcend overly intellectual posturing is nearly miraculous, and complete credit going to Rosalía. Although this is not her first project to fuse historical sounds with modern styles, its ambitions are far higher on Lux, and the balancing act more dramatic. What truly elevates her fourth album, beyond its complex tunes, rich compositions, and engrained drama, is an essential sense of fun. Similar to the iconic Björk at her peak, you find a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls you up in its tornado. When she's tearing hearts apart, the listener still desire to stay right there through the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
This playful energy comes forth brightly on the stirring piano-led song about a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over several moments. Suddenly, everything falls away, and there's a gleeful laugh and a comment prior to a hilariously exaggerated string surge thuds in with cartoonish force. The track then shifts into the wild single driven by racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise role from none other than herself.
"The magic with this album lies in the listener never quite know—nor wish to predict—where it will go next."
Nearly each song finishes at a totally different point from how it started. A track examines the transient nature of celebrity with a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating in electronic cacophony. Another, a song echoing her previous rhythmic work begins out dark and brooding, featuring prowling vocals, until sudden flamenco rhythms and a heavenly chorus enter to smooth its jagged corners.
The Balance Between Art & Accessibility
A key achievement of the album involves straddling the line between radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. This is little surprise that it has become her first work to break into the upper reaches of major charts: at its core a collection of truly undeniable hits. One track performed primarily in the English language swells on a refrain that seems to gather increasingly infectious melodies while it spirals upward. That feat gets echoed by another powerful track that expands and constricts, intertwining multiple melodies as an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused number charms with its playful, theatrical drama and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it aligns with pop culture honesty of contemporary heartbreak anthems, eviscerating an ex- partner described as an "psychological bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on edge, akin to a fairy-tale figure concealing a blade: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
Lux is pop on a maximalist level, an ambitious grasp for high artistry in an era of impending artificial blankness. It rejects solipsism in favor of sublime elevation, creating a dramatic spectacle that masterfully manages its inherent excess. This is an abundant source of buried treasure that requires patience to fully explore but never seem like a chore. While other big releases of the year seemed like feasting on meal, Lux offers a lavish feast at which the characters at the table, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flutter from conversations about ancient saints, the profound feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about useless men. It is a modern-day musical from pop's truly restlessly creative visionary.
