Initially, this album could seem closer to an arduous university examination than a new popular music record by a musician who just had a previous hit featured a global pop icon. Broken across four different movements and sung in 13 tongues, this is a breathtaking orchestral-influenced work exploring feminine mystique, spiritual transcendence, and corporal change, often through the perspective of various women saints. The end of a romance—a theme handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—soars heavenward on this record, supported by the lush sound of a full orchestra and work from an award-winning composer among a vast list of collaborators. The pure ambition alone makes the work of contemporary pop stars seem rather laughable.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That Lux manages to transcend overly intellectual chin-stroking feels nearly a miracle, with full credit going to Rosalía. While this is not the first time album to blend historical sounds with modern styles, the stakes are much greater on Lux, with the balancing act more precarious. The element that really raises her fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, dense arrangements, and inherent drama, proves to be an essential sense of fun. Similar to the legendary Björk during her height, there is a captivating quality to the vocalist's voice that pulls you into its whirlwind. When she is breaking hearts apart, you still desire to stay right there through the ride.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That exuberant energy comes forth clearly during a stunning Italian ballad about a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool for several moments. Then, all the music drops silent, and there's a gleeful laugh followed by a declaration prior to a comically exaggerated string crescendo thuds down with cartoonish impact. The song immediately shifts into the wild track featuring galloping strings, a powerful choir, and a surprise role from none other than herself.
"The magic with this album lies in you rarely quite know—nor want to predict—where it is going to next."
Nearly every track finishes at a completely distinct point from how it began. One moment explores the transient trappings of fame over a featherlight symphony only to disintegrating in electronic chaos. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic style begins off moody and brooding, featuring prowling beats, before fluttering traditional handclaps and an angelic choir arrive to smooth the song's jagged corners.
The Balance Of Art and Pop
A key balancing act of the album is straddling the line of bold innovation and broad appeal. This is little surprise that it has become her first release to break into the Top 5 of major charts: its heart contains a suite of utterly catchy pop songs. A song performed primarily in English swells around a refrain that feels to gather more and more nagging hooks while it spins skyward. That feat is repeated by another powerful ballad that grows and constricts, intertwining layered tunes like an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused song seduces via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture honesty of other heartbreak anthems, lambasting an ex- lover labeled an "emotional bully".
- Throughout the album, the vocals have a sharp edge, like a storybook character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art amid of impending artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully manages its built-in ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of buried gems that takes patience to completely mine but never feels like a chore. While some major releases of the year felt like a meager meal, this record is a sumptuous banquet at which the guests at it, some tipsy on holy drink, flit from discussions about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common gossip about hopeless men. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's most restlessly inventive visionary.
