Initially, this work may look more like a challenging university quiz than the latest popular music project by a musician whose previous hit featured a global pop star. Broken into four separate parts and performed in thirteen tongues, this is a dizzying classical-tinged work investigating female mystery, religious ascent, and physical transformation, frequently through the perspective of various female saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic treated with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot heavenward here, carried by the constant sound of a major symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter among an extensive roll call of collaborators. Its sheer daring alone makes the efforts of other artists seem quite laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
The fact that this album succeeds in avoid overly intellectual chin-stroking feels nothing short of a miracle, and complete praise going to the artist. Although it's not the first time album to alchemize historical sounds and modern styles, its ambitions are far greater here, with the balancing act far more precarious. What truly elevates this fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, dense compositions, and engrained drama, proves to be an essential sense of fun. Much like the legendary artist during her height, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls the listener into its tornado. When she's tearing your heart in two, you still want to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Joy
This playful spirit shines brightly during a stirring piano-led song inspired by a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool for several moments. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous giggle followed by a declaration prior to a comically over-the-top orchestral surge thuds in with comedic force. The track then segues into the wild single driven by racing orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a surprise appearance from none other than herself.
"The charm of Lux lies in the listener never exactly know—nor want to know—what you will go to next."
Nearly every song concludes in a completely different point from how it began. One moment examines the transient nature of fame with a featherlight orchestration before collapsing in digital cacophony. Another, a song echoing the artist's previous rhythmic work begins off dark and brooding, featuring menacing vocals, before sudden flamenco rhythms and an angelic choir enter to soften the song's rough edges.
The Bridge Between Experiment and Pop
A key achievement on Lux involves navigating the gap of radical innovation and broad appeal. It is little coincidence that the album has become her first release to break into the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a suite of truly catchy hits. A song sung entirely in English swells on a refrain that feels to gather increasingly nagging hooks as it spins skyward. That feat gets repeated by another expansive ballad that grows and constricts, weaving multiple melodies like an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused song charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it shares with pop culture honesty of contemporary breakup anthems, eviscerating a former partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Across the album, the vocals carry a painted-on smile, like a storybook character concealing a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
Lux is pop on a grand level, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art amid of impending AI-generated sameness. It rejects solipsism for sublime transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. It is an abundant well of buried treasure that takes patience to fully explore but doesn't feels like hard work. Where other big releases of the year felt like feasting on meal, Lux offers a sumptuous feast at which the guests at the table, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flutter from discussions about ancient figures, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's truly endlessly inventive practitioner.
