Initially, this work may look more like an arduous university challenge than a new popular music project by an artist who just had a last single was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Broken across 4 separate sections and voiced in 13 tongues, we have a breathtaking symphonic album that delves into feminine mystery, religious transcendence, and physical transformation, often through the prism of various saintly figures. The dissolution of a romance—a topic handled with raw honesty elsewhere—soars heavenward on this record, carried by the lush sound of a major orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter among a long roll call of collaborators. The pure audacity by itself makes the efforts of other pop stars look quite laughable.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
The fact that this album manages to escape dry academic chin-stroking is almost miraculous, with full credit belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not her first album to blend the past with the present, the ambitions feel far higher here, with the tightrope walk more dramatic. What really raises this fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, rich compositions, and inherent theatricality, is an essential sense of joy. Much like the iconic Björk at her peak, you find a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps you up in its whirlwind. Even when she is breaking hearts apart, you still desire to stay right there through the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
This playful spirit comes forth clearly on a stirring piano-led ballad inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for more than four moments. Suddenly, everything drops away, to reveal we hear a gleeful laugh and a comment prior to a comically over-the-top orchestral crescendo thuds down with cartoonish impact. The track immediately shifts to the frenetic single driven by galloping strings, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from none other than Björk.
"The magic of this album is that you never quite understand—or even wish to predict—where it is going next."
Almost each track ends at a completely different point than where it began. One moment examines the fleeting nature of fame with a delicate symphony only to collapsing into electronic chaos. Another, a song echoing her earlier trap-infused work begins off moody and sinister, featuring prowling beats, before sudden traditional rhythms and an angelic chorus arrive to soften the song's jagged edges.
The Bridge Of Experiment and Accessibility
A key achievement on the album is navigating the gap between radical experimentation and broad accessibility. This is little coincidence that it has achieved her highest-charting release to break into the upper reaches of key charts: at its core a collection of truly catchy pop songs. One track sung primarily in English builds on a chorus that feels to gather increasingly nagging hooks while it spins skyward. This feat gets echoed by another expansive ballad that grows and constricts, intertwining multiple melodies as a complex weave.
- A waltz-like number seduces with its playful, theatrical flair and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture honesty of other breakup songs, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "emotional bully".
- Across the album, the vocals carry a sharp smile, akin to a storybook character concealing a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
Lux represents pop on a maximalist scale, an ambitious grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of looming artificial sameness. It eschews solipsism for glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its built-in excess. It is a deep well of hidden treasure that requires time to completely explore but doesn't feels like a chore. Where other big pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, this record offers a lavish feast at which the characters at it, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flit between discussions about historical figures, the profound feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common gossip about useless partners. It is a contemporary musical from pop's truly endlessly inventive practitioner.
