At first glance, this album could seem closer to a difficult university quiz rather than a new popular music album from an artist who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Divided into 4 distinct sections and sung in thirteen tongues, this is a dizzying classical-tinged work investigating feminine mystique, spiritual ascent, and corporal change, often via the prism of different female saints. The end of a romance—a theme handled with raw openness elsewhere—soars skyward here, supported by the lush sound of a full orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a vast list of collaborators. Its sheer ambition alone renders the efforts of other artists appear quite modest.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
That this album manages to avoid dry intellectual chin-stroking is almost miraculous, with complete praise going to Rosalía. While it's not her first album to fuse the past and the present, the scale feel much higher on Lux, with the tightrope walk more dramatic. What really elevates her fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and inherent theatricality, proves to be a core sense of playfulness. Much like the iconic artist at her height, there is a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener into its tornado. Even when she's breaking hearts apart, the listener still want to be right there through the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
That playful spirit comes forth clearly during the stunning Italian ballad about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for more than four moments. Then, everything drops silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous giggle and a comment before a comically exaggerated orchestral crescendo thuds in with cartoonish impact. The song then segues into the frenetic track featuring galloping orchestration, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than herself.
"The magic with this album is that the listener never quite understand—nor wish to know—what it is going next."
Almost every track ends in a completely distinct place from how it started. One moment examines the fleeting trappings of celebrity with a featherlight symphony before collapsing in digital chaos. Another, a song echoing her previous rhythmic work begins out dark and sinister, featuring menacing beats, until sudden flamenco rhythms and an angelic choir enter to smooth the song's rough corners.
The Balance Between Experiment and Accessibility
A key achievement on Lux is navigating the gap of bold experimentation and broad accessibility. It is little coincidence that it has achieved the artist's first work to break into the upper reaches of major markets: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy hits. A song sung primarily in the English language builds on a refrain that feels to collect increasingly infectious hooks while it spins upward. This feat gets echoed by a different powerful ballad that expands and constricts, weaving multiple melodies like an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares with cultural impact of other breakup anthems, eviscerating an ex- partner labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the singing carry a sharp smile, akin to a fairy-tale character concealing a knife: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
This album represents pop on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry amid of looming AI-generated blankness. It eschews solipsism for sublime elevation, creating a dramatic spectacle that skillfully manages its own inherent excess. It is a deep source of hidden gems that requires patience to fully explore but never feels like hard work. While other big pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, Lux is a sumptuous banquet where the characters around the table, perhaps intoxicated on sacred wine, flit from discussions about ancient figures, the profound feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and shared gossip about useless men. It is a modern-day musical from pop's truly endlessly creative visionary.
