On the surface, this album may look closer to an arduous university quiz than a new pop album from a musician whose last single was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Broken across four different sections and voiced in 13 languages, this is a dizzying symphonic album exploring female mystery, religious ascent, and physical change, frequently through the lens of different female saints. The end of a relationship—a theme handled with raw openness elsewhere—is shot upwards on this record, carried by the lush sound of a major orchestra and work from an award-winning composer within an extensive roll call of collaborators. Its sheer ambition by itself renders the efforts of other artists appear rather laughable.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
That this album manages to escape dry academic chin-stroking is almost miraculous, with full credit going to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time project to alchemize the past with modern styles, its scale are far higher on Lux, with the balancing act far more dramatic. The element that really raises this fourth release, outside of its complex melodies, rich compositions, and inherent drama, proves to be an essential sense of playfulness. Much like the legendary artist at her height, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener up in its tornado. When she is tearing your heart in two, you nevertheless want to stay right there through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Exuberance
This playful energy shines clearly during a stunning piano-led song inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops away, and we hear a gleeful giggle followed by a comment before a hilariously exaggerated string surge crashes down with comedic force. The song then shifts into the frenetic track featuring racing strings, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist Björk.
"The charm of Lux lies in the listener rarely quite know—or even wish to predict—where it is going next."
Nearly each track ends in a totally distinct place than where it started. One moment explores the fleeting trappings of celebrity over a featherlight symphony before collapsing in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her earlier trap-infused work starts off moody and brooding, with menacing beats, until sudden flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to smooth its rough corners.
The Balance Between Experiment and Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act of Lux involves straddling the line of radical experimentation and mainstream accessibility. It is little surprise that the album has become the artist's first release to crack the Top 5 of key markets: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy pop songs. A song sung primarily in the English language swells around a chorus that feels to collect more and more infectious melodies as it spins upward. This feat is repeated by a different expansive track that grows and contracts, weaving multiple melodies like an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it aligns the pop culture honesty of other heartbreak songs, lambasting a former partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Across the album, the vocals carry a sharp edge, like a storybook character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
This album is pop on a grand level, a hungry reach for high artistry in an era of looming AI-generated blankness. It eschews solipsism for sublime transcendence, creating a dramatic spectacle that skillfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep well of hidden gems that requires time to fully explore but doesn't seem like hard work. Where some major releases of the year felt like a meager scraps, this record offers a lavish banquet where the characters at the table, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flutter from conversations about ancient figures, the profound feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and shared stories about useless men. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from pop's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
