At first glance, this album may look closer to a challenging university quiz rather than a new popular music record by an artist who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop icon. Split into four different parts and voiced in 13 languages, it is a head-spinning symphonic work investigating female mystique, religious transcendence, and corporal transformation, often by way of the perspective of various women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with grounded openness elsewhere—is launched heavenward on this record, carried by the constant sound of a full symphony orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer within an extensive list of contributors. Its sheer ambition by itself makes the efforts of contemporary pop stars appear quite small.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
That Lux succeeds in transcend overly intellectual posturing is nothing short of miraculous, and sole credit belonging to Rosalía. While it's not her first project to blend the past with modern styles, the stakes are far greater here, and the balancing act more dramatic. The element that truly elevates this fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, rich compositions, and engrained drama, is an essential sense of joy. Similar to the iconic artist at her height, there is a captivating quality to the vocalist's voice that pulls the listener up in its tornado. When she's breaking hearts apart, you still want to be right there for the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
This playful spirit shines brightly during the stunning piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool for several minutes. Then, all the music falls away, and there's a gleeful giggle and a declaration prior to a hilariously over-the-top string crescendo crashes down with cartoonish force. The track immediately segues into the wild track driven by racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a surprise appearance from the artist Björk.
"The charm of this album is that you rarely quite understand—or even wish to predict—where you will go to next."
Nearly every track ends in a totally different place than how it began. One moment examines the fleeting nature of fame over a delicate symphony before collapsing in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her previous rhythmic work starts off moody and brooding, with menacing beats, before sudden flamenco handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Bridge Of Experiment and Pop
A key achievement on Lux is straddling the line between radical innovation and mainstream appeal. This is no surprise that it has become her first release to crack the upper reaches of key markets: its heart contains a suite of utterly undeniable pop songs. One track performed primarily in English swells around a refrain that seems to gather more and more nagging hooks as it spins upward. This trick gets repeated by a different expansive ballad that expands and constricts, intertwining multiple melodies like a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the cultural impact of other breakup songs, eviscerating an ex- lover labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Across the album, the vocals have a painted-on edge, like a fairy-tale character hiding a blade: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
Lux is popular music on a grand level, an ambitious reach for high artistry in an era of looming AI-generated blankness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of glorious elevation, creating an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its own built-in excess. It is an abundant source of buried gems that requires time to completely explore but never seem like a chore. Where some big pop albums of the year seemed like a meager meal, Lux offers a lavish banquet where the guests at the table, some intoxicated on sacred wine, flit between conversations about ancient saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and common gossip about useless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from pop's most endlessly inventive visionary.
