On the surface, Lux may look more like an arduous academic challenge rather than the latest pop record from a musician who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international pop star. Split across 4 separate sections and performed in 13 tongues, we have a head-spinning symphonic opus that delves into female mystery, spiritual ascent, and bodily transformation, often by way of the perspective of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—is launched heavenward on this record, carried by the lush presence of a major symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning composer within a long list of collaborators. The pure audacity alone makes the work of other pop stars look quite small.
Transcending Academic Pretense
That this album manages to escape dry academic chin-stroking is nothing short of a miracle, with complete praise belonging to Rosalía. Although this is not her first project to alchemize the past and the present, its scale feel much higher here, with the tightrope walk far more dramatic. The element that really elevates this fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, dense compositions, and inherent drama, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the iconic artist during her peak, there is a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener up in its whirlwind. Even when she's tearing your heart apart, you still want to be alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Joy
That exuberant energy comes forth brightly on the stirring Italian ballad about a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy for several moments. Suddenly, all the music falls away, and there's a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration prior to a hilariously over-the-top orchestral surge crashes in like comedic force. The track then segues to the wild track driven by racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo appearance from none other than herself.
"The charm of Lux is that the listener rarely quite know—or even wish to know—what you will go next."
Nearly each song concludes at a totally different place from where it started. A track explores the fleeting trappings of fame over a delicate orchestration only to collapsing into digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's previous trap-infused work starts off moody and brooding, with prowling vocals, until sudden traditional handclaps and a heavenly choir enter to smooth the song's rough corners.
The Bridge Between Experiment & Pop
Another crucial balancing act of the album is navigating the line between bold experimentation and mainstream accessibility. This is no coincidence that it has achieved the artist's first work to crack the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable hits. One track performed primarily in English builds on a refrain that feels to gather increasingly infectious melodies as it spins skyward. This feat is repeated on a different powerful track that expands and contracts, intertwining layered melodies as a complex weave.
- A dance-infused song seduces with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it aligns with pop culture honesty of contemporary breakup anthems, eviscerating an ex- lover labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the singing carry a painted-on smile, like a fairy-tale figure concealing a knife: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
Lux is pop on a maximalist level, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism for glorious transcendence, crafting a dramatic spectacle that skillfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. It is an abundant well of hidden treasure that takes time to completely explore but never seem like a chore. While some big pop albums of the year felt like a meager meal, this record is a lavish feast where the guests around it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter between conversations about historical figures, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and shared stories about hopeless men. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's most restlessly inventive visionary.
