Initially, this album may look closer to an arduous scholarly examination than a new popular music album by a musician who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with a global pop star. Split into four different movements and performed in thirteen tongues, we have a head-spinning classical-tinged work exploring feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and bodily change, often through the lens of different women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—is shot upwards here, carried by the constant presence of a major symphony orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a vast list of collaborators. Its sheer audacity alone renders the efforts of other pop stars look quite laughable.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
The fact that this album succeeds in escape dry intellectual chin-stroking feels nearly a miracle, with full praise going to the artist. Although it's not her first project to fuse historical sounds with modern styles, the scale feel much greater on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more precarious. The element that really raises her fourth release, outside of its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and inherent drama, is an essential sense of joy. Much like the legendary artist at her peak, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener up in its tornado. Even when she's tearing hearts in two, the listener nevertheless desire to be alongside her for the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
That exuberant spirit shines clearly during a stunning Italian ballad inspired by a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool over several moments. Then, all the music falls away, and there's a gleeful giggle and a declaration before a comically over-the-top string surge crashes down like comedic impact. The song then segues to the frenetic track featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a surprise role from none other than herself.
"The magic with this album lies in you never quite know—nor wish to know—what you is going to next."
Nearly each track finishes at a totally different place than where it began. A track examines the transient nature of celebrity over a featherlight orchestration only to disintegrating into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing her previous trap-infused work starts out dark and brooding, with menacing vocals, before fluttering traditional rhythms and an angelic choir arrive to soften its jagged corners.
The Bridge Of Art & Pop
Another crucial achievement of Lux involves straddling the gap between radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. It is little surprise that the album has achieved her highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of key charts: at its core a collection of utterly undeniable hits. One track sung entirely in the English language swells on a chorus that seems to collect more and more infectious melodies while it spins skyward. That trick is echoed on a different expansive track that expands and contracts, intertwining layered melodies like a complex weave.
- A dance-infused song seduces with its playful, theatrical flair and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns with pop culture impact of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting an ex- lover described as an "psychological bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing carry a sharp edge, like a storybook character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
Lux is pop on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art amid of impending AI-generated blankness. It rejects solipsism in favor of sublime elevation, crafting a dramatic spectacle that skillfully controls its inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of buried treasure that requires time to fully explore but never seem like a chore. Where some major pop albums of the year felt like feasting on meal, Lux is a sumptuous banquet at which the guests around it, perhaps tipsy on sacred wine, flit from conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly endlessly creative practitioner.
