Initially, this album could seem more like a difficult scholarly challenge rather than the latest pop project from a musician whose previous single featured a global K-pop star. Split across four distinct sections and performed in thirteen tongues, we have a head-spinning classical-tinged opus that delves into female mystery, religious transcendence, and corporal change, often by way of the lens of various female saints. The end of a relationship—a theme handled with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot heavenward here, buoyed by the lush presence of a major orchestra and contributions from an award-winning songwriter among an extensive list of collaborators. Its sheer audacity by itself renders the work of other artists appear quite small.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
That this album manages to transcend dry intellectual posturing feels nothing short of a miracle, with sole credit going to Rosalía. Although it's not her first album to blend the past with the present, the scale are much greater here, and the tightrope walk more precarious. What really raises her fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, dense arrangements, and inherent theatricality, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the iconic artist during her peak, there is a wondrous quality to the vocalist's voice which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. Even when she's tearing your heart apart, you nevertheless want to stay alongside her for the ride.
A Signature Moment of Exuberance
That playful spirit shines brightly during a stirring Italian song about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy over several moments. Suddenly, all the music drops away, to reveal there's a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated orchestral crescendo thuds in with comedic force. The track immediately segues to the frenetic single driven by galloping orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a surprise role from none other than Björk.
"The charm of Lux lies in the listener never exactly know—or even want to predict—what it is going next."
Almost every track finishes at a totally different point than how it began. One moment examines the fleeting trappings of celebrity over a delicate orchestration before disintegrating into electronic chaos. Another, a cut echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused style starts off dark and brooding, with menacing vocals, before sudden flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir enter to smooth the song's jagged corners.
The Balance Of Art and Accessibility
A key achievement of the album is navigating the gap between bold innovation and broad appeal. It is no surprise that it has become her first release to crack the Top 5 of major markets: at its core a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. A song sung primarily in English swells on a chorus that feels to collect more and more nagging melodies while it spins upward. That feat gets echoed by another expansive ballad that expands and contracts, weaving multiple tunes as an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused number seduces with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it aligns the pop culture impact of other breakup songs, eviscerating an ex- partner described as an "psychological bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals carry a painted-on smile, like a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You have won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
Lux represents popular music on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for capital-A Art amid of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of buried treasure that takes time to fully explore but never feels like hard work. While some major pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, this record is a sumptuous feast where the characters at the table, perhaps tipsy on sacred wine, flit between discussions about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about hopeless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly restlessly inventive practitioner.
