At first glance, this album may look closer to a difficult academic quiz than a new popular music record by a musician whose previous single featured an international K-pop star. Split into four different parts and sung in 13 languages, we have a head-spinning classical-tinged album investigating feminine mystique, religious transcendence, and bodily change, often via the lens of various saintly figures. The dissolution of a relationship—a topic handled with grounded openness elsewhere—is launched heavenward here, supported by the constant sound of a major orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer among a vast list of contributors. The pure audacity alone makes the work of contemporary artists look rather laughable.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
That this album succeeds in escape overly academic chin-stroking is nearly miraculous, and sole credit belonging to the artist. Although this is not her first album to alchemize historical sounds with the present, its stakes are far greater on Lux, and the tightrope walk far more precarious. The element that really raises this fourth release, beyond its complex tunes, dense arrangements, and inherent drama, proves to be a core sense of playfulness. Similar to the legendary artist during her peak, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps you up in its whirlwind. When she's tearing your heart in two, you nevertheless want to stay right there through the ride.
A Prime Moment of Joy
That playful spirit shines brightly during the stirring piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool over more than four minutes. Then, all the music drops silent, to reveal there's a gleeful giggle followed by a comment before a hilariously exaggerated orchestral crescendo thuds in like comedic impact. The track then segues into the frenetic single featuring galloping orchestration, a powerful choir, and a surprise role from none other than Björk.
"The charm with Lux lies in you never exactly know—or even want to predict—what it will go next."
Almost each song finishes at a totally different place from where it began. One moment explores the fleeting nature of fame over a delicate symphony only to collapsing in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her previous trap-infused work starts out dark and sinister, featuring prowling beats, until fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly choir arrive to smooth the song's jagged edges.
The Balance Between Art & Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act of the album involves navigating the gap between bold experimentation and broad appeal. It is no surprise that it has achieved her first release to break into the Top 5 of major markets: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable hits. One track performed primarily in English builds around a chorus that seems to gather increasingly nagging hooks as it spins skyward. This trick is echoed on another expansive ballad that expands and contracts, intertwining layered melodies as an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused number charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it shares the cultural honesty of other heartbreak songs, lambasting a former lover labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the vocals carry a painted-on smile, akin to a storybook character hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Soul
This album represents pop on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of impending AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism in favor of glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its own inherent excess. It is a deep source of buried gems that takes time to fully mine but doesn't feels like a chore. While other big pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, Lux is a lavish banquet at which the guests around it, perhaps tipsy on sacred wine, flit between discussions about historical figures, the profound feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from music's truly restlessly inventive practitioner.
