On the surface, Lux might appear more like a difficult scholarly challenge rather than the latest popular music record by a musician whose last single was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Divided into four separate parts and voiced in 13 tongues, it is a head-spinning orchestral-influenced work investigating feminine mystique, religious transcendence, and physical transformation, often via the perspective of various female saints. The end of a romance—a topic treated with raw honesty elsewhere—soars upwards here, carried by the lush presence of a major symphony orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a long list of contributors. The pure daring by itself makes the work of other pop stars seem quite laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
That this album manages to escape dry academic chin-stroking feels nearly miraculous, and sole credit going to the artist. Although it's not her first album to alchemize historical sounds with modern styles, its ambitions are much greater here, and the balancing act far more dramatic. The element that truly elevates this fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, dense arrangements, and inherent theatricality, is a core sense of joy. Much like the legendary artist during her height, you find a captivating sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. Even when she is tearing hearts in two, you still desire to be right there for the journey.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That playful energy shines clearly on a stunning Italian ballad inspired by a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy for more than four minutes. Suddenly, everything drops away, and there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a comment before a comically exaggerated orchestral surge thuds down with comedic impact. The song immediately segues into the wild single driven by galloping orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The charm with Lux is that the listener rarely quite know—nor want to know—what you is going next."
Nearly each track ends in a totally different place from where it started. One moment examines the transient nature of celebrity over a delicate symphony only to disintegrating into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her previous rhythmic style begins off dark and sinister, with menacing beats, until sudden traditional handclaps and an angelic chorus enter to soften its rough edges.
The Bridge Of Art & Accessibility
A key balancing act on Lux is straddling the line of bold experimentation and broad appeal. It is little coincidence that it has become the artist's first release to crack the upper reaches of major markets: at its core a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. One track performed primarily in English swells on a chorus that seems to collect more and more nagging hooks as it spins skyward. This trick is repeated by another powerful ballad that grows and contracts, weaving layered tunes as a complex weave.
- A waltz-like number charms via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns the cultural impact of other breakup anthems, eviscerating an ex- lover labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Across the album, the vocals carry a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook character hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
This album represents pop on a grand scale, a hungry reach for capital-A Art amid of looming artificial blankness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of sublime transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully controls its own built-in excess. This is an abundant source of buried treasure that takes time to fully mine but never seem like hard work. While other big releases of the year seemed like a meager meal, this record offers a sumptuous banquet where the characters at it, some tipsy on holy wine, flutter between discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and shared stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's truly restlessly inventive practitioner.
