Initially, this album could seem closer to a challenging academic examination than a new popular music album by a musician whose last hit was a collaboration with a global pop star. Split into four separate movements and performed in thirteen languages, this is a dizzying orchestral-influenced opus that delves into feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and corporal change, frequently by way of the lens of various female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a topic handled with raw honesty elsewhere—is launched heavenward on this record, carried by the lush presence of a full orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning composer among an extensive roll call of contributors. The pure daring alone renders the efforts of contemporary pop stars seem quite laughable.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
That this album manages to avoid overly academic chin-stroking feels almost miraculous, and full credit belonging to Rosalía. While it's not her first project to blend historical sounds and the present, its ambitions feel much greater on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more pronounced. What really elevates this fourth release, outside of its complex tunes, dense compositions, and inherent drama, is a core sense of fun. Much like the legendary Björk during her peak, you find a captivating sense to the vocalist's voice that pulls the listener into its whirlwind. When she's tearing hearts apart, the listener still desire to be right there through the journey.
A Prime Example of Joy
That playful energy shines brightly during the stirring piano-led song about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy for more than four moments. Then, everything falls away, and there's a gleeful laugh followed by a comment prior to a hilariously exaggerated string surge crashes in like comedic impact. The song immediately segues to the wild single featuring racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist Björk.
"The magic with this album lies in you rarely exactly understand—or even want to predict—what you will go to next."
Nearly every song finishes in a totally different place than where it began. A track examines the transient nature of celebrity over a featherlight symphony only to collapsing into electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's previous trap-infused style begins off moody and sinister, with prowling vocals, before fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly chorus enter to soften the song's jagged edges.
The Bridge Between Experiment and Pop
Another crucial balancing act of the album involves navigating the gap of radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. It is little coincidence that it has become her first release to break into the Top 5 of key charts: at its core a suite of utterly catchy hits. One track performed primarily in English builds around a refrain that seems to collect more and more nagging hooks while it spins skyward. That trick is repeated on a different powerful ballad that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies as a complex weave.
- A waltz-like number charms via its playful, theatrical drama and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the pop culture impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating an ex- lover described as an "psychological terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the singing carry a sharp smile, akin to a storybook character hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
Lux is popular music on a maximalist level, an ambitious reach for high Art in an era of looming artificial sameness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of sublime elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its own inherent ridiculousness. This is a deep source of buried gems that takes patience to completely mine but never feels like a chore. While other big releases of the year seemed like a meager scraps, this record is a sumptuous feast where the guests around it, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flutter between conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about hopeless partners. It is a modern-day theatrical production from pop's truly endlessly creative practitioner.
