On the surface, this album may look closer to a challenging academic challenge than a new popular music project by a musician who just had a previous single was a collaboration with an international K-pop icon. Split into 4 distinct movements and sung in thirteen tongues, we have a breathtaking classical-tinged album that delves into feminine mystique, religious transcendence, and bodily change, often through the lens of various female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a topic handled with raw openness elsewhere—is shot upwards here, carried by the lush presence of a full symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter among an extensive list of collaborators. The pure daring by itself makes the work of contemporary artists appear rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That Lux succeeds in escape dry intellectual chin-stroking feels nearly miraculous, with sole credit going to the artist. While this is not her first project to alchemize the past and modern styles, the stakes feel much greater here, with the tightrope walk far more pronounced. What truly raises her fourth release, outside of its complex melodies, rich arrangements, and inherent theatricality, is a core sense of playfulness. Similar to the legendary artist during her peak, you find a wondrous quality to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. When she is breaking your heart in two, the listener still want to be alongside her through the ride.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That exuberant energy comes forth clearly on a stirring piano-led song about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for more than four moments. Then, all the music drops silent, and there's a gleeful giggle followed by a comment prior to a comically over-the-top orchestral surge crashes down with comedic force. The track immediately shifts to the frenetic track featuring galloping orchestration, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than Björk.
"The magic of Lux is that you rarely quite know—nor want to predict—what it will go to next."
Nearly each track concludes in a totally different place from how it began. A track examines the fleeting nature of fame with a delicate symphony only to disintegrating in digital chaos. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic work begins out moody and sinister, with prowling beats, before sudden traditional handclaps and an angelic choir enter to soften the song's jagged edges.
The Balance Between Art and Accessibility
Another crucial achievement on the album is navigating the line of bold innovation and mainstream appeal. It is little coincidence that the album has achieved her first work to break into the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a suite of utterly undeniable hits. A song performed entirely in the English language builds on a chorus that feels to gather increasingly nagging melodies while it spirals skyward. This feat gets echoed on a different expansive ballad that grows and constricts, weaving multiple melodies like a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like song charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns with cultural impact of other breakup anthems, lambasting an ex- lover labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the singing carry a sharp edge, like a storybook character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
Lux represents pop on a maximalist level, a hungry reach for capital-A Art in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of glorious transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its own inherent excess. This is an abundant source of hidden gems that requires patience to fully mine but never seem like hard work. While some big pop albums of the year felt like feasting on scraps, this record is a lavish feast at which the guests around it, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flutter between conversations about ancient saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and shared gossip about hopeless men. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from music's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
