Initially, this work may look more like a difficult university examination rather than the latest pop record from an artist whose last hit featured a global pop icon. Broken across four different parts and voiced in thirteen tongues, we have a dizzying orchestral-influenced album investigating female mystique, spiritual ascent, and bodily change, often via the lens of different women saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic treated with raw openness elsewhere—is shot skyward here, carried by the lush sound of a full orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a vast roll call of contributors. Its sheer audacity alone makes the work of contemporary artists look rather small.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
That this album succeeds in transcend overly intellectual chin-stroking feels nearly miraculous, and complete praise going to Rosalía. While it's not the first time project to alchemize the past with modern styles, the stakes are much greater on Lux, and the tightrope walk more pronounced. What truly raises this fourth album, beyond its multilayered melodies, dense compositions, and engrained drama, is a core sense of fun. Much like the iconic Björk at her peak, there is a wondrous quality to the vocalist's voice which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. When she is tearing your heart in two, you nevertheless desire to stay alongside her for the journey.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
That playful energy comes forth brightly on the stunning piano-led song inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool for more than four moments. Then, everything falls away, to reveal we hear a spontaneous laugh followed by a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated orchestral surge thuds in with comedic impact. The song immediately segues into the frenetic track driven by galloping strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than Björk.
"The charm of Lux is that the listener never exactly know—or even want to predict—where you is going to next."
Nearly each song ends in a totally distinct point than how it started. One moment explores the transient nature of celebrity over a delicate symphony before disintegrating in electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing the artist's previous trap-infused work begins out dark and sinister, featuring menacing vocals, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and an angelic chorus enter to smooth the song's jagged edges.
The Bridge Of Art & Accessibility
A key balancing act on the album involves navigating the line of radical experimentation and broad accessibility. It is little coincidence that it has become the artist's highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy pop songs. One track sung primarily in the English language swells on a refrain that feels to collect more and more nagging hooks as it spirals upward. That feat is repeated on a different powerful ballad that expands and constricts, weaving layered melodies like an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like number seduces via its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture honesty of contemporary heartbreak songs, lambasting a former lover labeled an "psychological bully".
- Throughout the album, the vocals have a painted-on edge, like a storybook character hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
This album represents pop on a grand level, an ambitious grasp for high artistry amid of impending artificial sameness. It rejects solipsism for glorious transcendence, crafting an over-the-top drama that masterfully manages its built-in excess. This is a deep well of hidden gems that requires patience to completely explore but doesn't seem like hard work. Where other major pop albums of the year seemed like a meager meal, Lux is a lavish banquet where the guests around it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter between conversations about ancient saints, the profound sensation of heartbreaking grief, and common stories about useless men. It is a modern-day musical from music's truly endlessly creative practitioner.
