On the surface, Lux could seem more like a challenging scholarly quiz than the latest pop album from a musician whose previous hit featured a global pop star. Broken across four distinct movements and sung in 13 tongues, it is a dizzying orchestral-influenced album investigating feminine mystique, spiritual ascent, and corporal change, often by way of the lens of different women saints. The end of a love affair—a topic handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—is shot heavenward here, buoyed by the constant presence of a full symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter within an extensive roll call of collaborators. The pure ambition alone makes the work of contemporary pop stars seem quite modest.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
That this album succeeds in escape overly academic posturing feels nearly miraculous, and complete credit going to Rosalía. Although it's not her first album to alchemize the past and the present, its stakes feel far higher on Lux, with the balancing act more dramatic. What really raises her fourth album, beyond its multilayered melodies, dense compositions, and inherent drama, is an essential spirit of joy. Much like the legendary artist during her height, you find a captivating sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls the listener up in its whirlwind. When she is tearing hearts apart, the listener still desire to be right there for the journey.
A Prime Example of Joy
This exuberant energy shines clearly on a stunning Italian song about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four moments. Suddenly, all the music drops silent, to reveal we hear a gleeful laugh and a declaration before a comically exaggerated orchestral crescendo crashes down with comedic force. The song then segues to the frenetic single driven by galloping orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a surprise role from none other than Björk.
"The charm of Lux is that you never exactly know—nor want to know—where it will go next."
Almost each track finishes in a totally different point from where it began. One moment examines the fleeting trappings of celebrity with a delicate symphony only to disintegrating into electronic cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls her earlier trap-infused style begins out dark and sinister, with prowling vocals, before sudden flamenco handclaps and a heavenly choir enter to smooth the song's rough edges.
The Balance Between Art and Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act on the album is navigating the gap between bold experimentation and broad appeal. This is little surprise that it has become her first work to break into the upper reaches of major charts: at its core a collection of truly catchy pop songs. One track performed entirely in English swells around a refrain that seems to collect more and more infectious melodies as it spirals skyward. This feat is repeated on a different expansive track that expands and constricts, weaving layered melodies as a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it aligns the cultural honesty of other breakup songs, lambasting a former partner labeled an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing have a sharp edge, like a fairy-tale figure concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
This album is pop on a grand level, an ambitious grasp for capital-A Art in an era of impending AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism in favor of sublime elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully manages its own inherent ridiculousness. This is a deep source of hidden gems that takes patience to completely explore but doesn't seem like a chore. Where some big releases of the year felt like a meager meal, Lux is a sumptuous banquet where the guests at it, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flutter between discussions about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about hopeless partners. It is a contemporary theatrical production from music's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
