At first glance, this album might appear closer to a challenging academic examination than a new popular music album from an artist whose previous hit featured a global K-pop star. Split into four separate movements and performed in 13 tongues, it is a dizzying classical-tinged work that delves into feminine mystery, religious transcendence, and corporal transformation, often by way of the prism of different women saints. The dissolution of a romance—a topic handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—is launched skyward on this record, supported by the constant sound of a full symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter among an extensive list of contributors. Its sheer daring by itself makes the work of contemporary pop stars look quite laughable.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
The fact that this album manages to escape dry intellectual chin-stroking feels nothing short of a miracle, and full credit belonging to Rosalía. While this is not her first album to blend historical sounds with modern styles, the ambitions are much higher on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more precarious. What truly elevates her fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, rich arrangements, and inherent theatricality, proves to be an essential sense of playfulness. Similar to the iconic artist during her height, there is a wondrous sense to the vocalist's singing which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. When she's tearing hearts in two, the listener still want to be right there through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Joy
This exuberant energy shines brightly during the stunning piano-led ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy for more than four moments. Suddenly, everything drops silent, and there's a gleeful laugh followed by a comment prior to a comically exaggerated string surge crashes down with cartoonish force. The song immediately shifts to the wild single featuring galloping orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a surprise appearance from the artist herself.
"The magic with Lux is that you rarely exactly know—nor want to predict—what you will go to next."
Almost every song ends in a completely different place than where it began. One moment explores the transient nature of celebrity with a featherlight symphony before collapsing in digital cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's previous rhythmic style starts out dark and brooding, with prowling beats, before fluttering traditional rhythms and an angelic choir arrive to soften its rough corners.
The Bridge Between Art & Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act of the album involves navigating the line of radical experimentation and broad accessibility. This is no surprise that it has become the artist's first work to crack the Top 5 of key markets: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. One track performed primarily in English swells around a refrain that feels to gather more and more nagging hooks while it spirals skyward. That feat is echoed on a different expansive ballad that expands and constricts, intertwining multiple melodies as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it aligns the cultural impact of other breakup anthems, lambasting an ex- lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Across the album, the singing carry a painted-on edge, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
This album represents popular music on a grand level, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of looming artificial blankness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully controls its inherent ridiculousness. This is a deep well of hidden gems that takes patience to completely mine but doesn't feels like a chore. While other big releases of the year seemed like a meager scraps, Lux is a sumptuous banquet where the characters at it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred drink, flit between conversations about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and common stories about useless partners. It is a modern-day theatrical production from pop's truly endlessly inventive practitioner.
