On the surface, this album could seem closer to a challenging scholarly quiz rather than a new pop project by a musician who just had a previous hit featured a global pop icon. Broken across four separate movements and sung in thirteen tongues, it is a head-spinning symphonic work investigating female mystery, religious transcendence, and corporal change, frequently by way of the prism of various female saints. The dissolution of a romance—a theme handled with raw honesty elsewhere—soars skyward here, buoyed by the constant presence of a full orchestra and contributions from an award-winning songwriter among a vast roll call of collaborators. The pure daring alone makes the efforts of other artists look rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
That Lux manages to transcend overly intellectual chin-stroking is almost a miracle, with sole praise going to the artist. Although this is not the first time album to alchemize the past and modern styles, its scale are far greater here, and the balancing act more dramatic. What truly elevates this fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is an essential sense of playfulness. Similar to the legendary Björk at her height, there is a wondrous quality to Rosalía's voice that pulls you into its tornado. Even when she's breaking hearts apart, you still desire to be right there through the ride.
A Prime Moment of Joy
This exuberant spirit comes forth clearly on the stunning piano-led ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy over several minutes. Then, all the music drops silent, to reveal we hear a gleeful giggle and a comment before a comically exaggerated orchestral surge thuds down like comedic force. The track then shifts to the wild track featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist herself.
"The charm with Lux is that the listener rarely quite understand—or even wish to predict—what you will go to next."
Almost each track ends in a totally different place than where it started. A track examines the fleeting nature of fame over a delicate symphony only to disintegrating into electronic cacophony. Another, a cut echoing the artist's previous trap-infused style starts out moody and sinister, with menacing beats, until sudden traditional handclaps and a heavenly choir arrive to soften its rough edges.
The Balance Between Experiment and Pop
A key achievement of the album involves navigating the line between bold experimentation and broad appeal. This is no surprise that it has become her highest-charting release to break into the Top 5 of key charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable hits. One track performed primarily in English swells on a chorus that feels to gather more and more infectious hooks as it spirals upward. That trick is repeated by another expansive ballad that expands and constricts, weaving layered tunes like an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused number charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns with pop culture impact of other breakup anthems, eviscerating an ex- partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing have a sharp smile, akin to a storybook figure concealing a knife: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
This album is popular music on a grand level, an ambitious grasp for capital-A artistry amid of looming artificial sameness. It eschews solipsism for glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully manages its inherent excess. It is a deep well of buried treasure that takes time to fully mine but doesn't feels like a chore. Where other big pop albums of the year felt like a meager meal, this record is a sumptuous banquet at which the characters around the table, some tipsy on sacred drink, flit from conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from music's truly endlessly inventive visionary.
