🔗 Share this article

Initially, this work might appear more like a difficult scholarly challenge rather than the latest pop album from an artist who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Split into four distinct movements and sung in thirteen tongues, this is a dizzying symphonic work investigating feminine mystique, spiritual ascent, and bodily transformation, often by way of the prism of various female saints. The end of a love affair—a topic handled with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot upwards here, carried by the lush sound of a full symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning composer among a vast list of contributors. Its sheer daring alone renders the work of other pop stars seem quite modest.

Transcending Scholarly Pretense

The fact that this album manages to transcend overly academic posturing feels nearly a miracle, with sole praise going to Rosalía. While this is not the first time project to alchemize the past with modern styles, the stakes feel much greater on Lux, with the tightrope walk more pronounced. What truly raises her fourth release, outside of its multilayered melodies, dense arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the legendary Björk during her height, you find a captivating sense to the vocalist's singing that pulls you into its whirlwind. Even when she is breaking your heart apart, the listener still desire to be right there for the journey.

A Prime Example of Joy

This exuberant energy comes forth clearly during the stirring Italian song inspired by a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool for several moments. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal we hear a gleeful giggle followed by a comment before a comically exaggerated orchestral surge thuds in with comedic force. The track then segues to the frenetic single featuring galloping orchestration, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from the artist Björk.

"The charm of Lux is that the listener never quite know—nor wish to know—what you is going to next."

Almost each song finishes at a totally distinct place than how it began. One moment explores the transient nature of fame with a featherlight symphony before disintegrating in digital cacophony. Another, a song that recalls her earlier trap-infused work starts out moody and sinister, with prowling beats, before fluttering traditional handclaps and an angelic chorus enter to soften the song's jagged corners.

The Balance Between Art and Accessibility

Another crucial balancing act of Lux involves straddling the gap between bold innovation and broad appeal. It is no coincidence that the album has become her first work to crack the Top 5 of key markets: at its core a collection of truly catchy pop songs. One track sung entirely in the English language swells around a chorus that seems to collect more and more infectious hooks while it spins skyward. This feat is repeated on another expansive track that expands and contracts, weaving layered tunes as a complex weave.

• A dance-infused song seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
• In its words, it shares the pop culture impact of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting an ex- partner described as an "emotional terrorist".
• Across the album, the vocals have a painted-on smile, like a storybook character hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."

A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears

Lux represents pop on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for high Art amid of impending artificial blankness. It rejects self-absorption for glorious transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its own inherent ridiculousness. It is a deep well of buried treasure that requires time to fully explore but doesn't seem like hard work. While other big releases of the year felt like feasting on scraps, Lux offers a sumptuous feast at which the guests at the table, some intoxicated on sacred wine, flutter from discussions about ancient saints, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from music's truly endlessly inventive practitioner.