On the surface, this album might appear closer to a challenging university challenge than the latest popular music record by a musician whose previous single was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Broken across four distinct movements and sung in thirteen tongues, we have a head-spinning symphonic opus investigating feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and corporal change, frequently through the perspective of different saintly figures. The end of a relationship—a topic treated with raw openness elsewhere—is shot upwards here, supported by the lush presence of a major symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter within a vast list of collaborators. Its sheer ambition by itself makes the efforts of other artists seem rather laughable.
Transcending Academic Pretense
That Lux manages to transcend dry intellectual posturing is nothing short of a miracle, with full praise belonging to Rosalía. While it's not the first time project to alchemize the past with the present, its ambitions are much higher here, and the tightrope walk far more pronounced. What truly elevates her fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, rich arrangements, and inherent drama, proves to be a core sense of fun. Much like the legendary Björk during her height, there is a captivating sense to the vocalist's voice which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. When she is breaking hearts apart, you nevertheless want to stay alongside her through the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
This exuberant spirit shines brightly on a stirring piano-led ballad inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy over several minutes. Suddenly, everything falls silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous giggle and a comment before a comically exaggerated string surge thuds down like comedic impact. The track then segues to the wild track featuring racing strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The charm of this album lies in the listener rarely exactly know—or even want to know—where it is going to next."
Almost each track concludes in a completely different place than where it began. One moment explores the fleeting nature of celebrity over a delicate orchestration before collapsing in digital chaos. Another, a song that recalls her earlier trap-infused style starts off dark and brooding, with prowling vocals, before fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly choir arrive to soften the song's rough corners.
The Bridge Of Art & Pop
Another crucial balancing act on Lux involves straddling the line between bold experimentation and mainstream appeal. This is no coincidence that the album has become her first work to break into the Top 5 of key charts: at its core a suite of truly undeniable hits. One track sung entirely in the English language builds on a chorus that seems to gather increasingly nagging hooks as it spins upward. This feat is echoed by another powerful track that grows and contracts, weaving multiple melodies as an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused number charms via its playful, theatrical flair and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it aligns the cultural honesty of other heartbreak anthems, lambasting an ex- partner described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the vocals carry a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
This album is popular music on a grand level, a hungry grasp for high Art in an era of looming AI-generated blankness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of sublime elevation, creating an over-the-top drama that skillfully controls its own inherent excess. This is an abundant source of buried gems that takes patience to fully mine but doesn't feels like hard work. While other major pop albums of the year seemed like a meager meal, Lux is a sumptuous banquet at which the guests at the table, some intoxicated on sacred wine, flutter between conversations about historical figures, the profound feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from music's truly restlessly creative practitioner.
