At first glance, this album might appear closer to a challenging university challenge rather than the latest pop project by a musician whose last hit featured an international K-pop star. Split across 4 distinct parts and sung in thirteen languages, this is a dizzying classical-tinged album investigating female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and bodily transformation, often via the prism of different saintly figures. The end of a relationship—a theme handled with raw honesty elsewhere—soars skyward on this record, supported by the lush sound of a full symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter among a vast roll call of collaborators. Its sheer audacity alone renders the work of contemporary artists seem quite laughable.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
The fact that this album succeeds in avoid overly intellectual chin-stroking feels nearly a miracle, and sole praise belonging to the artist. Although this is not her first project to blend historical sounds with modern styles, its stakes are far greater here, with the tightrope walk more precarious. What really elevates this fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is a core sense of joy. Similar to the legendary artist during her height, you find a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls you into its tornado. When she's breaking your heart apart, you still desire to be right there for the journey.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That exuberant spirit comes forth brightly on the stunning piano-led ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy over more than four minutes. Then, everything drops silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous laugh followed by a declaration before a hilariously over-the-top string crescendo thuds in with cartoonish impact. The track immediately shifts into the wild single driven by racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise role from the artist Björk.
"The magic with this album lies in the listener never exactly understand—nor want to predict—where it will go next."
Almost every track ends at a totally different place than how it started. A track explores the transient trappings of fame with a delicate orchestration only to disintegrating in digital cacophony. Another, a cut echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused work starts off moody and sinister, featuring prowling vocals, before sudden flamenco handclaps and a heavenly choir arrive to soften the song's rough edges.
The Balance Of Art and Pop
A key balancing act of the album is straddling the gap between radical experimentation and broad appeal. This is little coincidence that it has achieved the artist's first work to break into the Top 5 of major markets: its heart contains a suite of utterly catchy hits. A song performed entirely in English swells on a chorus that feels to gather increasingly infectious hooks while it spirals skyward. This trick gets repeated on a different expansive track that expands and contracts, intertwining layered tunes like a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms with its playful, theatrical drama and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it shares with pop culture impact of other heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Across the album, the singing have a sharp smile, akin to a fairy-tale character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a grand level, an ambitious grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of impending artificial blankness. It rejects solipsism for sublime transcendence, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully manages its own built-in excess. It is an abundant source of hidden gems that requires patience to completely explore but never seem like a chore. While some major releases of the year felt like feasting on meal, Lux offers a lavish banquet at which the guests around it, perhaps tipsy on sacred wine, flutter between conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about useless men. It is a contemporary musical from pop's most endlessly creative practitioner.
