Initially, Lux could seem closer to a challenging university challenge rather than a new pop project by an artist whose previous hit was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Split into 4 distinct movements and voiced in 13 languages, we have a breathtaking orchestral-influenced work investigating female mystery, religious transcendence, and physical transformation, often by way of the lens of various female saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic treated with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot upwards on this record, buoyed by the lush presence of a major orchestra and contributions from an award-winning songwriter within a long roll call of collaborators. The pure ambition alone renders the work of contemporary artists look rather laughable.
Transcending Academic Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to transcend overly intellectual chin-stroking feels almost a miracle, with complete credit going to the artist. Although this is not the first time project to blend the past and the present, the ambitions feel far greater here, with the balancing act more dramatic. What truly elevates this fourth release, beyond its complex melodies, dense arrangements, and inherent theatricality, proves to be an essential sense of playfulness. Similar to the legendary artist at her peak, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener into its tornado. Even when she's tearing your heart apart, the listener nevertheless desire to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
This exuberant spirit shines brightly during the stirring piano-led song inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy for several moments. Suddenly, everything drops silent, and there's a spontaneous giggle and a declaration before a hilariously over-the-top orchestral surge crashes down with comedic impact. The song immediately segues to the wild single driven by galloping orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The charm of this album lies in the listener never exactly understand—or even want to predict—where you is going to next."
Nearly every track ends at a completely distinct place than how it started. A track examines the transient trappings of celebrity with a featherlight symphony only to collapsing into electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a song echoing the artist's previous rhythmic work begins out dark and brooding, featuring menacing vocals, before sudden flamenco handclaps and a heavenly choir arrive to soften its jagged corners.
The Bridge Of Art and Pop
Another crucial balancing act on Lux involves navigating the line between bold innovation and mainstream appeal. This is little coincidence that it has become the artist's first work to crack the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy pop songs. One track sung primarily in English builds around a refrain that seems to gather increasingly infectious hooks as it spirals skyward. That feat is echoed on a different powerful ballad that expands and contracts, weaving multiple tunes as a complex weave.
- A dance-infused song charms with its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it shares with pop culture honesty of contemporary heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former partner labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Across the album, the vocals have a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook figure hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
This album is popular music on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for capital-A artistry amid of looming artificial sameness. It rejects self-absorption for glorious elevation, creating an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully manages its own inherent excess. This is a deep source of hidden treasure that requires patience to completely mine but doesn't feels like hard work. Where other big releases of the year felt like feasting on meal, this record offers a sumptuous banquet at which the characters at the table, perhaps intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter from conversations about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and common stories about hopeless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly endlessly inventive visionary.