Initially, this work may look closer to a difficult academic examination than the latest pop project from a musician whose last hit featured a global K-pop star. Split across 4 separate parts and sung in thirteen tongues, this is a dizzying classical-tinged work investigating feminine mystique, religious ascent, and corporal transformation, frequently via the perspective of different women saints. The end of a romance—a topic handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—soars upwards on this record, carried by the constant sound of a full orchestra and contributions from an award-winning songwriter within a vast list of contributors. Its sheer daring alone makes the work of other artists appear quite small.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
The fact that this album succeeds in transcend overly academic chin-stroking feels almost a miracle, and sole praise going to Rosalía. While this is not the first time project to blend historical sounds and the present, its scale are much higher here, and the tightrope walk more pronounced. What truly elevates this fourth album, beyond its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential sense of joy. Much like the iconic artist during her peak, you find a wondrous quality to the vocalist's singing which sweeps you into its whirlwind. When she is breaking your heart apart, you nevertheless desire to stay alongside her for the journey.
A Signature Moment of Joy
That exuberant spirit shines brightly during a stirring piano-led song about Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over more than four moments. Suddenly, all the music falls away, to reveal there's a gleeful laugh and a declaration before a comically over-the-top orchestral crescendo crashes in like cartoonish force. The track immediately segues into the frenetic track featuring galloping strings, an imposing choir, and a surprise role from the artist herself.
"The charm with this album lies in the listener rarely exactly know—or even want to know—what you will go to next."
Nearly every track finishes at a completely distinct place from where it started. A track explores the fleeting nature of celebrity with a delicate symphony only to disintegrating in electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls her previous trap-infused work begins off moody and brooding, with menacing beats, until sudden traditional rhythms and an angelic choir enter to soften its jagged edges.
The Bridge Between Art & Accessibility
A key balancing act on the album involves navigating the gap between radical innovation and mainstream appeal. This is little surprise that it has become her first release to break into the Top 5 of major markets: at its core a collection of utterly catchy pop songs. One track performed primarily in the English language swells around a refrain that seems to gather more and more infectious hooks while it spins skyward. That trick gets echoed on another expansive ballad that expands and contracts, weaving layered melodies as an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms with its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns with pop culture impact of other breakup songs, lambasting an ex- lover labeled an "emotional bully".
- Across the album, the singing carry a painted-on smile, akin to a storybook character hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album is popular music on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for high Art amid of impending artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of sublime elevation, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully controls its own built-in ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of hidden treasure that requires time to completely explore but doesn't feels like a chore. While some major pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, Lux offers a sumptuous feast where the characters at the table, some intoxicated on holy wine, flutter between conversations about ancient saints, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking grief, and shared gossip about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's most restlessly creative practitioner.
