At first glance, Lux may look more like a difficult scholarly examination rather than a new popular music record by an artist whose previous hit featured an international pop star. Broken across 4 distinct sections and sung in 13 languages, we have a dizzying classical-tinged album exploring feminine mystique, religious transcendence, and corporal transformation, frequently via the lens of different female saints. The end of a love affair—a theme handled with raw honesty elsewhere—is launched upwards here, carried by the lush presence of a full orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among an extensive list of contributors. The pure daring alone renders the efforts of other pop stars seem rather laughable.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
That this album manages to avoid dry academic posturing is almost a miracle, with full praise belonging to Rosalía. While this is not the first time album to alchemize the past and the present, the ambitions feel much greater on Lux, and the tightrope walk far more precarious. What truly elevates this fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, dense arrangements, and inherent drama, is an essential sense of playfulness. Much like the iconic artist at her peak, there is a captivating quality to the vocalist's singing that pulls you into its whirlwind. When she's tearing your heart in two, the listener nevertheless want to be alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Exuberance
This playful energy shines clearly on the stirring piano-led song about Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy over more than four minutes. Then, everything drops away, and there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated orchestral surge crashes in with comedic force. The track then shifts into the wild single featuring galloping strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The charm with this album lies in you rarely quite know—or even wish to know—where you will go next."
Nearly each song finishes in a totally different point than how it started. A track explores the fleeting nature of celebrity over a featherlight symphony only to collapsing in digital cacophony. Another, a song echoing the artist's earlier rhythmic style starts out moody and brooding, with prowling beats, until sudden flamenco rhythms and an angelic choir enter to smooth the song's rough edges.
The Bridge Between Art & Pop
A key balancing act of the album is straddling the line between radical innovation and broad accessibility. It is no coincidence that the album has become her highest-charting work to break into the upper reaches of key charts: at its core a suite of truly undeniable hits. A song sung entirely in the English language swells on a chorus that feels to collect more and more infectious hooks as it spins skyward. This feat is repeated by another powerful track that grows and constricts, intertwining multiple melodies like an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused song seduces via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns with cultural impact of other breakup anthems, eviscerating a former partner described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Soul
This album is popular music on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime transcendence, creating a dramatic spectacle that masterfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. This is a deep well of buried gems that takes time to fully explore but doesn't feels like hard work. Where some major pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, Lux is a lavish banquet where the characters around it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred drink, flit from conversations about historical saints, the profound feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from pop's most restlessly creative practitioner.
