On the surface, this album might appear closer to a challenging university challenge rather than a new pop project from a musician whose last hit was a collaboration with an international pop star. Split across 4 different movements and voiced in 13 tongues, we have a breathtaking classical-tinged opus that delves into feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and physical transformation, frequently by way of the perspective of different female saints. The end of a love affair—a topic treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—is shot heavenward on this record, carried by the lush sound of a full symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning composer among a vast roll call of contributors. The pure ambition alone makes the work of contemporary pop stars appear quite modest.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
The fact that this album manages to escape overly intellectual posturing feels almost miraculous, and sole praise going to Rosalía. While this is not her first album to fuse the past with the present, the ambitions are far greater on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more dramatic. The element that truly elevates this fourth release, beyond its complex tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, is a core spirit of fun. Similar to the iconic artist at her height, you find a wondrous sense to the vocalist's singing that pulls you into its whirlwind. When she is tearing your heart apart, you nevertheless want to stay right there for the ride.
A Prime Moment of Joy
This exuberant energy comes forth brightly on a stirring Italian song inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy for several minutes. Suddenly, everything falls away, to reveal there's a gleeful laugh followed by a declaration before a comically over-the-top orchestral surge crashes in like comedic impact. The track then shifts into the wild track driven by galloping strings, a powerful choral group, and a surprise role from the artist herself.
"The magic of Lux lies in you rarely exactly understand—or even wish to predict—where you will go next."
Nearly each song concludes in a totally different point from where it started. One moment explores the fleeting nature of fame with a delicate orchestration before disintegrating into electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's previous trap-infused work starts out moody and sinister, featuring menacing vocals, before sudden traditional rhythms and an angelic choir enter to soften its jagged corners.
The Bridge Between Experiment & Pop
A key achievement on the album is straddling the line between radical innovation and mainstream appeal. This is little surprise that it has become her highest-charting release to break into the Top 5 of key markets: at its core a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. One track sung primarily in English swells on a chorus that seems to gather more and more nagging hooks while it spirals upward. That feat is echoed by another powerful ballad that grows and constricts, intertwining layered tunes like an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares with cultural impact of other heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Across these tracks, the singing have a painted-on smile, like a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
Lux represents pop on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of looming artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism for glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its own inherent ridiculousness. This is an abundant well of buried treasure that requires patience to completely mine but doesn't feels like hard work. Where other major releases of the year felt like a meager meal, this record offers a sumptuous feast where the characters around it, some tipsy on sacred wine, flutter between conversations about ancient saints, the profound sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and shared stories about useless men. It is a modern-day theatrical production from pop's most restlessly creative visionary.
