On the surface, this album could seem more like a difficult scholarly challenge rather than a new pop record from a musician who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Broken across 4 different parts and performed in 13 languages, this is a breathtaking symphonic album that delves into feminine mystique, spiritual ascent, and physical change, frequently via the prism of different women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme handled with raw honesty elsewhere—soars skyward on this record, buoyed by the constant presence of a full symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning composer within a long list of collaborators. The pure ambition alone makes the work of contemporary pop stars seem quite small.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to avoid overly intellectual chin-stroking feels nearly a miracle, with complete praise going to Rosalía. Although it's not her first project to alchemize historical sounds with the present, its ambitions are far greater here, with the balancing act far more precarious. What really raises this fourth release, beyond its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential sense of playfulness. Similar to the legendary Björk during her peak, there is a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls you up in its tornado. When she's breaking your heart apart, you still desire to stay right there for the ride.
A Signature Moment of Joy
This playful spirit comes forth brightly during the stunning piano-led song inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four minutes. Suddenly, everything drops silent, and we hear a gleeful giggle and a comment prior to a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo thuds in like comedic impact. The song then segues to the frenetic single featuring racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist Björk.
"The charm with Lux lies in the listener never quite know—or even want to predict—what you will go to next."
Nearly every song ends in a completely distinct point from where it started. A track examines the transient trappings of celebrity with a featherlight orchestration before collapsing into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls her previous rhythmic style begins off moody and sinister, with menacing beats, until fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to soften its rough edges.
The Bridge Of Art and Pop
Another crucial achievement on the album involves straddling the gap between radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. It is little coincidence that the album has become the artist's first work to break into the upper reaches of major markets: its heart contains a suite of utterly catchy hits. A song sung primarily in the English language swells around a refrain that feels to collect increasingly nagging hooks while it spins skyward. This feat gets repeated by a different powerful track that expands and contracts, weaving multiple tunes as a complex weave.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the cultural honesty of other heartbreak anthems, eviscerating an ex- partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Across the album, the vocals have a sharp smile, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
Lux is pop on a maximalist scale, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming AI-generated blankness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of sublime transcendence, creating a dramatic spectacle that skillfully manages its inherent excess. It is an abundant source of buried gems that requires patience to fully mine but never feels like a chore. Where some major pop albums of the year seemed like a meager scraps, this record offers a lavish banquet where the characters at it, some intoxicated on sacred wine, flit from conversations about historical saints, the profound sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and shared stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from music's most endlessly creative visionary.
