On the surface, this album might appear closer to a challenging university examination rather than the latest popular music album by a musician whose previous single was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Split into 4 distinct sections and sung in thirteen tongues, we have a head-spinning classical-tinged album exploring female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and physical change, often via the lens of different women saints. The end of a relationship—a theme treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—is shot heavenward here, carried by the lush presence of a major orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within an extensive list of contributors. Its sheer ambition by itself renders the work of contemporary artists seem rather laughable.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
The fact that this album succeeds in transcend dry academic posturing is nothing short of a miracle, with full credit belonging to Rosalía. Although this is not her first album to alchemize historical sounds with modern styles, its scale feel far greater on Lux, and the balancing act more pronounced. The element that truly raises her fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, rich compositions, and engrained drama, is an essential sense of playfulness. Much like the iconic artist at her peak, there is a wondrous quality to the vocalist's singing which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. Even when she's breaking hearts in two, the listener still want to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Example of Joy
That playful energy comes forth brightly during the stunning Italian ballad about a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over more than four moments. Suddenly, everything falls away, and there's a gleeful laugh and a declaration prior to a comically over-the-top orchestral surge crashes in with comedic impact. The track immediately segues to the frenetic track featuring racing strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than herself.
"The charm of this album is that you never quite know—nor want to know—where you will go to next."
Almost every track ends in a completely different place than where it started. One moment examines the fleeting trappings of fame over a featherlight symphony before collapsing into digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut echoing her previous rhythmic style starts out dark and sinister, featuring menacing vocals, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and an angelic chorus arrive to soften the song's rough edges.
The Bridge Of Experiment and Pop
A key achievement of the album involves navigating the gap of radical experimentation and broad accessibility. It is little surprise that it has achieved the artist's highest-charting release to break into the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a suite of utterly undeniable pop songs. One track performed primarily in the English language builds around a chorus that feels to collect increasingly infectious hooks while it spins upward. This trick gets repeated by another powerful track that grows and contracts, intertwining layered melodies like an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused number charms with its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it aligns the pop culture honesty of other breakup songs, lambasting a former partner described as an "psychological terrorist".
- Across the album, the vocals have a sharp edge, like a fairy-tale figure concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
This album represents pop on a grand level, an ambitious reach for high Art amid of impending artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious elevation, creating a dramatic spectacle that masterfully controls its built-in excess. It is an abundant source of hidden treasure that requires time to completely explore but doesn't seem like a chore. While other major releases of the year felt like a meager scraps, Lux offers a sumptuous banquet where the characters around it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred wine, flit from conversations about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about hopeless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly endlessly creative visionary.
