At first glance, this album may look more like an arduous scholarly quiz rather than a new pop project by a musician who just had a last hit featured an international K-pop icon. Divided into four different movements and voiced in 13 tongues, we have a dizzying orchestral-influenced opus investigating female mystique, spiritual transcendence, and physical change, often by way of the lens of different saintly figures. The end of a relationship—a topic treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—is launched upwards here, supported by the constant presence of a major symphony orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a vast list of contributors. Its sheer daring alone makes the efforts of contemporary pop stars seem rather small.
Transcending Academic Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to escape overly academic posturing is nothing short of miraculous, and sole credit belonging to the artist. While it's not the first time project to alchemize the past and the present, the ambitions are far higher here, and the tightrope walk more precarious. The element that really raises her fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, rich compositions, and engrained drama, is a core spirit of fun. Similar to the iconic artist during her height, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. When she's tearing your heart apart, the listener nevertheless desire to be right there through the ride.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
This exuberant spirit comes forth brightly during the stirring Italian ballad about a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool for several minutes. Then, all the music falls away, to reveal we hear a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration before a comically over-the-top string crescendo thuds in with comedic impact. The song immediately shifts to the wild track featuring racing orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a cameo appearance from none other than Björk.
"The magic of Lux lies in you never exactly understand—nor wish to predict—what you is going next."
Nearly each song finishes at a totally different point from how it started. A track examines the fleeting nature of fame with a delicate orchestration before collapsing into digital cacophony. Another, a song that recalls the artist's previous rhythmic work begins off dark and sinister, with menacing beats, until fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly chorus enter to soften its jagged corners.
The Bridge Between Experiment and Pop
Another crucial balancing act on the album is straddling the line of radical experimentation and broad appeal. It is no coincidence that the album has become her first work to crack the upper reaches of major markets: its heart contains a suite of truly catchy pop songs. A song performed primarily in the English language builds around a chorus that feels to gather increasingly nagging melodies while it spins upward. That trick is echoed on a different powerful track that grows and contracts, intertwining layered melodies like an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like number charms with its playful, theatrical flair and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the cultural honesty of contemporary breakup anthems, lambasting a former lover labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the vocals carry a painted-on edge, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
Lux is popular music on a maximalist level, an ambitious reach for high Art in an era of impending artificial blankness. It rejects solipsism for glorious transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its own built-in ridiculousness. This is a deep source of hidden treasure that requires patience to fully mine but never feels like hard work. Where other major releases of the year felt like feasting on scraps, Lux offers a sumptuous banquet at which the guests at it, some intoxicated on sacred drink, flit from discussions about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and shared gossip about hopeless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from music's most restlessly creative practitioner.
