Initially, this work might appear closer to a difficult university challenge than a new popular music album from a musician who just had a last single was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Broken into 4 distinct movements and performed in thirteen tongues, this is a breathtaking symphonic work investigating female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and physical transformation, often via the lens of various women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—is launched upwards here, supported by the lush sound of a major symphony orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer within an extensive roll call of contributors. The pure ambition by itself makes the efforts of other artists appear quite small.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
That this album manages to transcend overly academic chin-stroking is almost a miracle, with sole credit belonging to Rosalía. While it's not her first album to alchemize historical sounds with the present, the stakes are far higher on Lux, with the balancing act more pronounced. What truly elevates her fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, dense arrangements, and engrained drama, is an essential sense of joy. Much like the legendary Björk during her peak, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls you up in its whirlwind. Even when she is breaking hearts apart, the listener still want to be right there through the ride.
A Prime Moment of Joy
That exuberant energy shines brightly during a stunning piano-led song inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four moments. Then, everything falls away, to reveal there's a gleeful giggle and a declaration before a comically exaggerated orchestral crescendo thuds down like cartoonish impact. The track immediately segues into the wild track driven by racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The charm with this album is that the listener never exactly understand—or even want to know—what you is going to next."
Almost every track ends at a totally distinct point than where it started. One moment explores the transient trappings of celebrity with a featherlight orchestration only to disintegrating in electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic work starts off moody and sinister, with prowling beats, until sudden flamenco handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften its jagged corners.
The Balance Between Experiment & Pop
A key balancing act of the album is navigating the gap between radical experimentation and broad accessibility. It is no coincidence that it has achieved her first work to crack the Top 5 of key markets: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. A song sung primarily in English builds around a chorus that feels to gather more and more nagging melodies while it spins upward. That trick is echoed on a different expansive track that expands and constricts, weaving layered melodies like a complex weave.
- A waltz-like number seduces via its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it shares the pop culture honesty of other heartbreak songs, eviscerating an ex- lover labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across the album, the vocals have a painted-on smile, akin to a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You've the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album represents pop on a grand level, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming artificial sameness. It rejects self-absorption for glorious transcendence, crafting a dramatic spectacle that masterfully controls its inherent ridiculousness. This is an abundant source of buried gems that takes patience to fully explore but never feels like hard work. While some big releases of the year seemed like a meager scraps, Lux is a lavish banquet where the characters at the table, some intoxicated on holy drink, flutter from conversations about historical figures, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about useless partners. It is a contemporary musical from music's truly endlessly creative practitioner.
