Initially, this album could seem closer to an arduous scholarly challenge than the latest popular music record from an artist who just had a previous single featured an international K-pop icon. Divided across four different sections and sung in thirteen tongues, we have a dizzying orchestral-influenced opus investigating female mystery, religious ascent, and bodily transformation, often through the perspective of various saintly figures. The end of a romance—a topic handled with raw openness elsewhere—is launched skyward here, supported by the constant presence of a full orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter among a long list of collaborators. The pure ambition alone makes the efforts of other pop stars seem rather modest.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
That Lux succeeds in transcend dry academic posturing feels nearly a miracle, and complete credit belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time album to blend historical sounds with modern styles, its scale feel much higher on Lux, and the balancing act more pronounced. What truly raises her fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, rich compositions, and inherent theatricality, proves to be a core spirit of playfulness. Much like the legendary artist during her peak, you find a wondrous sense to the vocalist's singing that pulls the listener into its whirlwind. When she's breaking hearts in two, you still desire to be alongside her for the journey.
A Signature Example of Exuberance
That playful energy comes forth clearly on a stirring piano-led song about a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool for several moments. Suddenly, all the music drops away, to reveal we hear a gleeful laugh and a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated string surge crashes down like cartoonish impact. The track then shifts into the wild track featuring galloping strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The magic with Lux is that you rarely exactly understand—or even want to predict—what it will go next."
Nearly every track ends in a totally different place than where it began. A track explores the fleeting trappings of fame over a featherlight orchestration only to collapsing into digital chaos. Another, a cut that recalls her earlier rhythmic style starts off dark and sinister, featuring menacing beats, before sudden traditional rhythms and a heavenly choir enter to smooth the song's jagged edges.
The Bridge Of Experiment and Pop
Another crucial achievement on Lux is straddling the line between radical innovation and mainstream appeal. It is no coincidence that it has achieved the artist's first work to break into the upper reaches of major markets: at its core a collection of utterly undeniable hits. A song sung entirely in the English language swells on a chorus that feels to collect more and more nagging melodies while it spins upward. That trick gets repeated by another powerful track that expands and constricts, intertwining multiple tunes as an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like number seduces via its jaunty, theatrical drama and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares the pop culture impact of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting an ex- lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You have the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
Lux is popular music on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that skillfully manages its own inherent ridiculousness. This is a deep source of hidden gems that takes time to completely explore but doesn't seem like a chore. While other big releases of the year felt like a meager scraps, this record is a sumptuous banquet at which the guests around it, perhaps tipsy on sacred wine, flutter from conversations about ancient figures, the profound sensation of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly restlessly creative visionary.
