On the surface, this work could seem more like a difficult academic examination rather than a new popular music project by a musician who just had a last hit featured an international K-pop icon. Divided across four different movements and performed in thirteen languages, it is a dizzying symphonic album that delves into feminine mystique, spiritual ascent, and physical transformation, often by way of the perspective of various saintly figures. The end of a relationship—a topic treated with grounded openness elsewhere—soars skyward on this record, supported by the constant sound of a full orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter among a vast roll call of contributors. The pure ambition by itself renders the efforts of contemporary pop stars look quite small.
Transcending Academic Exercise
That Lux succeeds in escape dry intellectual posturing is nothing short of miraculous, and full praise going to Rosalía. Although it's not her first project to fuse the past with modern styles, its ambitions are much greater here, with the balancing act more precarious. The element that truly elevates her fourth album, beyond its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, proves to be a core sense of joy. Similar to the iconic Björk during her peak, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. Even when she's breaking hearts apart, the listener nevertheless want to stay right there through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
This exuberant energy shines clearly during the stunning piano-led ballad inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool over more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls silent, to reveal we hear a gleeful laugh and a declaration before a hilariously over-the-top orchestral crescendo crashes down with cartoonish impact. The track then segues to the frenetic track driven by galloping orchestration, a powerful choir, and a surprise role from none other than Björk.
"The magic with Lux lies in the listener rarely exactly understand—or even want to predict—what you will go next."
Nearly each song concludes in a completely different point from how it began. A track explores the transient trappings of fame over a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating in electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her previous trap-infused style starts off dark and brooding, featuring menacing beats, until sudden traditional handclaps and an angelic chorus arrive to smooth its rough corners.
The Balance Of Experiment and Pop
Another crucial balancing act of the album involves navigating the line of radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. This is little coincidence that it has become her first release to break into the Top 5 of major markets: its heart contains a suite of utterly catchy pop songs. One track sung entirely in English swells around a refrain that seems to collect more and more infectious hooks as it spins upward. That trick gets repeated on another powerful track that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple tunes like an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song charms with its playful, theatrical drama and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture honesty of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting an ex- partner labeled an "emotional bully".
- Across these tracks, the singing have a sharp smile, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
This album is pop on a maximalist scale, an ambitious grasp for high artistry in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious transcendence, crafting a dramatic spectacle that masterfully manages its built-in ridiculousness. This is an abundant well of hidden treasure that takes patience to completely mine but doesn't seem like a chore. While other big pop albums of the year felt like feasting on meal, this record is a lavish banquet at which the characters around it, some tipsy on sacred wine, flit between discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about useless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from pop's truly restlessly creative practitioner.
