On the surface, this album may look more like an arduous university challenge than the latest pop project by a musician who just had a previous single featured an international pop icon. Split into four different sections and performed in 13 languages, this is a breathtaking symphonic opus exploring female mystery, spiritual ascent, and corporal change, often via the prism of various saintly figures. The end of a love affair—a topic handled with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot skyward on this record, supported by the lush presence of a major orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer within a long list of contributors. Its sheer ambition alone renders the efforts of contemporary pop stars look quite laughable.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
The fact that this album succeeds in escape dry intellectual chin-stroking is nearly a miracle, and complete praise going to Rosalía. While it's not the first time project to fuse historical sounds with the present, the ambitions are much higher here, and the balancing act more pronounced. The element that really raises this fourth release, beyond its multilayered tunes, dense compositions, and engrained theatricality, proves to be a core sense of joy. Similar to the legendary Björk at her peak, there is a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener up in its whirlwind. When she's breaking hearts apart, the listener still want to be alongside her for the journey.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
This exuberant spirit shines clearly during a stunning piano-led ballad inspired by a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four moments. Then, everything falls away, and there's a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration before a comically over-the-top orchestral surge crashes in like cartoonish impact. The track immediately shifts into the frenetic single driven by racing orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from the artist Björk.
"The magic with Lux lies in the listener rarely quite understand—nor wish to know—where it is going to next."
Nearly each song finishes at a totally distinct point from where it began. A track explores the fleeting trappings of fame with a delicate symphony before disintegrating into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut echoing her previous trap-infused work begins out dark and brooding, with prowling vocals, until fluttering traditional handclaps and an angelic chorus arrive to soften its rough edges.
The Balance Between Art & Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act on the album is navigating the gap between radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. It is no surprise that the album has achieved her highest-charting release to crack the Top 5 of major charts: at its core a suite of truly undeniable hits. One track sung primarily in the English language swells on a refrain that feels to collect increasingly infectious hooks while it spirals skyward. This feat is echoed by a different expansive track that grows and constricts, intertwining multiple tunes like an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like song charms via its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture honesty of other breakup anthems, lambasting a former lover described as an "psychological bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing have a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook figure concealing a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
Lux represents pop on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for high artistry in an era of impending AI-generated sameness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic spectacle that skillfully manages its own inherent excess. This is a deep well of hidden gems that takes patience to completely mine but never feels like hard work. Where other major releases of the year felt like a meager scraps, Lux offers a sumptuous banquet where the guests at it, some intoxicated on holy wine, flutter between conversations about historical figures, the profound feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and common stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from pop's most restlessly creative practitioner.
