On the surface, this work may look more like a difficult scholarly examination than the latest popular music record by an artist whose last hit was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Divided into 4 different sections and voiced in thirteen tongues, it is a head-spinning orchestral-influenced work investigating female mystery, religious transcendence, and physical transformation, frequently via the prism of various female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot heavenward here, carried by the constant presence of a major orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among an extensive roll call of contributors. Its sheer ambition by itself renders the work of other pop stars appear quite small.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
The fact that Lux succeeds in escape dry intellectual posturing feels nothing short of a miracle, and full credit going to Rosalía. While this is not the first time project to alchemize the past and the present, the scale feel much greater here, with the balancing act more pronounced. The element that truly elevates this fourth album, beyond its complex melodies, dense arrangements, and inherent drama, is an essential spirit of fun. Similar to the iconic artist during her height, you find a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. Even when she is breaking hearts in two, the listener still desire to be right there for the journey.
A Prime Moment of Joy
That exuberant energy comes forth brightly on a stunning piano-led song inspired by a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over several minutes. Then, everything falls away, and we hear a spontaneous laugh followed by a comment before a comically over-the-top orchestral surge crashes down with cartoonish force. The track then segues into the wild single driven by racing strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The charm with this album is that you rarely exactly know—or even want to know—what it is going next."
Nearly each song concludes at a totally distinct point from where it began. One moment explores the transient trappings of fame over a delicate orchestration only to collapsing in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's previous rhythmic style starts off moody and sinister, with menacing vocals, until sudden flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir enter to smooth the song's rough corners.
The Bridge Between Art and Pop
A key balancing act on the album is navigating the gap between radical experimentation and broad appeal. It is no coincidence that it has become her first release to break into the upper reaches of key charts: at its core a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. A song sung entirely in English swells around a refrain that feels to gather increasingly infectious hooks as it spins upward. That trick is echoed on a different powerful track that grows and contracts, intertwining multiple tunes like a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused number seduces via its jaunty, theatrical flair and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it shares the cultural honesty of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating an ex- lover labeled an "emotional bully".
- Across these tracks, the singing have a sharp edge, akin to a fairy-tale character concealing a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
Lux is pop on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art in an era of impending artificial blankness. It rejects solipsism in favor of glorious elevation, creating a dramatic spectacle that skillfully manages its inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of hidden treasure that takes patience to fully explore but doesn't feels like a chore. Where some major releases of the year felt like feasting on scraps, this record is a sumptuous banquet where the guests at it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred wine, flutter from conversations about historical figures, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and common gossip about useless partners. It is a contemporary theatrical production from pop's truly endlessly inventive visionary.
