Initially, Lux might appear more like an arduous university examination rather than a new popular music record by an artist who just had a last single featured a global pop icon. Divided into 4 different parts and voiced in thirteen languages, this is a dizzying classical-tinged opus investigating female mystery, spiritual ascent, and corporal change, often via the perspective of various female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—is shot upwards here, supported by the constant presence of a full symphony orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within an extensive list of contributors. Its sheer daring alone renders the work of other artists appear rather modest.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
The fact that Lux succeeds in avoid dry academic posturing feels nearly a miracle, and sole credit belonging to Rosalía. Although this is not her first album to alchemize the past and the present, its ambitions feel much higher here, with the tightrope walk far more pronounced. What truly elevates this fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, proves to be a core sense of fun. Much like the iconic artist at her peak, you find a wondrous quality to Rosalía's voice that pulls you into its whirlwind. When she's tearing your heart in two, the listener nevertheless desire to be alongside her for the journey.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That exuberant energy comes forth brightly during a stirring Italian ballad about Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool over several minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops silent, to reveal we hear a gleeful giggle followed by a comment prior to a comically exaggerated string surge thuds in like cartoonish impact. The track then segues into the frenetic single featuring galloping strings, an imposing choral group, and a surprise role from the artist herself.
"The magic with this album lies in you never quite know—nor want to predict—what you will go next."
Almost every song concludes in a completely different place than how it started. A track examines the transient trappings of celebrity with a featherlight symphony before collapsing into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's previous rhythmic style starts out dark and brooding, featuring menacing beats, before fluttering traditional handclaps and an angelic choir enter to smooth its jagged edges.
The Bridge Between Experiment & Accessibility
A key balancing act of Lux involves navigating the line of radical experimentation and broad accessibility. It is little surprise that it has become her highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of key markets: at its core a collection of utterly catchy hits. A song performed entirely in English builds around a refrain that seems to gather more and more nagging hooks while it spins skyward. That feat gets echoed by a different expansive ballad that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture honesty of other heartbreak anthems, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals carry a painted-on edge, like a storybook figure hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
Lux is popular music on a grand level, an ambitious reach for high Art in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism in favor of sublime elevation, creating a dramatic spectacle that skillfully controls its own built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep source of hidden treasure that requires time to fully explore but never feels like a chore. Where some major pop albums of the year felt like feasting on meal, Lux offers a sumptuous feast at which the guests at the table, perhaps tipsy on holy drink, flit between discussions about historical saints, the profound sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and common gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's truly endlessly inventive visionary.
