At first glance, this album could seem more like a challenging academic examination rather than a new pop record by an artist whose previous single was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Broken across 4 different movements and voiced in thirteen tongues, we have a head-spinning orchestral-influenced album investigating female mystique, religious transcendence, and corporal change, often via the perspective of different saintly figures. The end of a romance—a theme handled with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot upwards here, supported by the constant presence of a full orchestra and input from an award-winning composer among a vast roll call of collaborators. The pure ambition by itself makes the efforts of other pop stars appear rather small.
Transcending Academic Exercise
That this album manages to escape dry intellectual chin-stroking feels almost miraculous, with full credit belonging to the artist. Although this is not her first album to blend the past with the present, its scale are far greater on Lux, with the balancing act more precarious. What really elevates her fourth album, beyond its complex tunes, dense compositions, and engrained drama, is a core spirit of fun. Much like the iconic Björk during her height, you find a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener up in its whirlwind. Even when she is tearing hearts apart, the listener nevertheless want to be alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Exuberance
This exuberant spirit comes forth brightly during the stirring Italian ballad about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for several minutes. Then, everything drops away, to reveal we hear a spontaneous laugh and a declaration before a hilariously over-the-top orchestral surge crashes down like cartoonish impact. The track then shifts into the frenetic single featuring racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a surprise appearance from none other than herself.
"The magic with Lux lies in the listener rarely exactly know—nor want to predict—what it will go to next."
Nearly every song finishes in a totally distinct point from how it started. One moment examines the fleeting nature of celebrity over a delicate orchestration only to collapsing in digital cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls her earlier trap-infused style begins off moody and sinister, with menacing beats, before sudden flamenco handclaps and an angelic chorus arrive to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Bridge Of Art & Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act of Lux is straddling the gap between radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. This is little surprise that the album has achieved her first work to break into the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a suite of utterly catchy pop songs. A song performed primarily in English swells on a chorus that seems to gather increasingly nagging melodies while it spirals upward. This feat is echoed on another powerful ballad that grows and constricts, weaving multiple tunes as a complex weave.
- A waltz-like song charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture impact of contemporary heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former partner described as an "psychological bully".
- Throughout the album, the vocals carry a sharp edge, akin to a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
This album represents popular music on a maximalist scale, an ambitious grasp for capital-A Art amid of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism in favor of sublime transcendence, crafting a dramatic spectacle that masterfully manages its own built-in excess. It is an abundant source of buried gems that requires patience to completely mine but never seem like a chore. Where some big releases of the year felt like feasting on scraps, Lux offers a lavish banquet where the guests at the table, some tipsy on holy drink, flit between discussions about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared gossip about hopeless partners. It is a modern-day musical from music's most restlessly creative practitioner.
