At first glance, this work might appear more like a difficult university examination than the latest popular music record from a musician whose previous single was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Split into 4 distinct parts and voiced in 13 languages, we have a dizzying orchestral-influenced opus investigating feminine mystique, religious transcendence, and bodily transformation, often via the prism of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a relationship—a topic treated with grounded openness elsewhere—is launched upwards on this record, carried by the lush presence of a full symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning composer within a vast roll call of contributors. The pure audacity by itself renders the efforts of other artists look quite small.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
That Lux manages to transcend dry academic chin-stroking feels nothing short of a miracle, with complete praise belonging to the artist. While this is not the first time album to blend historical sounds with modern styles, the scale are far higher on Lux, and the balancing act more dramatic. What really raises her fourth release, beyond its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, is a core spirit of fun. Similar to the legendary artist during her peak, you find a wondrous quality to Rosalía's voice which sweeps you into its whirlwind. When she's breaking your heart apart, you nevertheless want to stay right there for the ride.
A Signature Example of Joy
This playful energy shines brightly during a stirring piano-led song about a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy for several minutes. Then, all the music falls away, and we hear a spontaneous laugh and a comment before a hilariously over-the-top string crescendo crashes in like cartoonish force. The song immediately shifts to the wild track driven by racing strings, a powerful choral group, and a surprise appearance from the artist herself.
"The magic with Lux is that the listener never quite understand—or even wish to know—what it is going next."
Nearly each track concludes in a completely different place from where it started. A track examines the transient nature of celebrity over a delicate symphony before disintegrating into electronic chaos. Another, a song that recalls her earlier rhythmic work starts out dark and brooding, with menacing beats, until sudden flamenco handclaps and a heavenly choir enter to smooth the song's rough corners.
The Bridge Between Art & Pop
Another crucial balancing act of Lux involves straddling the gap of bold innovation and mainstream accessibility. This is no coincidence that it has achieved her first release to crack the upper reaches of major markets: at its core a suite of truly catchy hits. A song sung entirely in the English language builds on a refrain that seems to collect more and more nagging hooks as it spirals skyward. That feat gets echoed on another powerful track that grows and contracts, weaving multiple melodies as a complex weave.
- A dance-infused number seduces via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the cultural impact of contemporary breakup anthems, eviscerating a former lover labeled an "emotional bully".
- Throughout the album, the singing have a sharp smile, like a storybook figure hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
Lux is pop on a maximalist level, an ambitious grasp for high Art amid of impending AI-generated blankness. It rejects solipsism in favor of glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic spectacle that masterfully manages its inherent excess. It is an abundant source of buried treasure that requires patience to completely explore but doesn't seem like hard work. Where some big releases of the year felt like a meager scraps, Lux is a sumptuous banquet where the characters around it, some tipsy on holy wine, flutter between discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about hopeless men. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from pop's most endlessly inventive visionary.
