At first glance, this work could seem more like an arduous university quiz rather than the latest pop project from an artist who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop icon. Broken across 4 different parts and sung in 13 languages, it is a head-spinning symphonic work exploring feminine mystique, religious ascent, and corporal transformation, frequently through the lens of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a relationship—a topic treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—is shot skyward here, carried by the constant presence of a full orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a vast list of contributors. The pure audacity by itself makes the work of contemporary artists seem rather laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
The fact that Lux succeeds in transcend dry intellectual posturing feels almost miraculous, with full credit belonging to Rosalía. While it's not her first project to blend the past and modern styles, the stakes feel far higher here, and the tightrope walk more precarious. The element that truly elevates this fourth release, beyond its multilayered tunes, dense compositions, and inherent theatricality, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Much like the legendary artist at her height, there is a captivating quality to the vocalist's singing that pulls you up in its tornado. When she's tearing your heart in two, you still desire to be alongside her through the ride.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
This exuberant spirit shines clearly on a stirring piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy over several minutes. Then, all the music falls silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous giggle and a comment prior to a comically over-the-top string crescendo thuds down like cartoonish impact. The track then segues to the wild single featuring galloping orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The charm with this album lies in the listener rarely exactly understand—nor want to predict—where it will go to next."
Nearly every track concludes at a totally distinct place from where it started. One moment examines the fleeting trappings of fame with a delicate symphony only to disintegrating into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing her earlier trap-infused style starts off moody and brooding, with prowling vocals, until sudden traditional rhythms and an angelic chorus enter to smooth its jagged corners.
The Balance Between Experiment and Pop
Another crucial balancing act of the album is navigating the gap of bold innovation and broad appeal. It is no coincidence that the album has achieved her first release to break into the Top 5 of key charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable pop songs. One track sung entirely in the English language builds on a chorus that feels to gather more and more nagging melodies while it spirals skyward. That trick is repeated by a different powerful track that grows and constricts, weaving layered tunes like a complex weave.
- A waltz-like number seduces via its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it aligns the cultural honesty of contemporary breakup anthems, lambasting a former lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Across the album, the vocals have a painted-on smile, like a fairy-tale figure concealing a knife: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Soul
This album is pop on a grand level, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of impending artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism for glorious elevation, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully controls its inherent excess. It is a deep source of buried treasure that requires patience to fully mine but doesn't seem like hard work. Where some big pop albums of the year seemed like a meager meal, Lux offers a sumptuous feast at which the characters around the table, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flit between conversations about historical figures, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and common gossip about useless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from music's most endlessly creative visionary.
