At first glance, Lux could seem more like a challenging university quiz than a new pop project from an artist whose previous hit was a collaboration with a global pop star. Split across four distinct movements and performed in 13 tongues, we have a breathtaking classical-tinged album investigating female mystique, spiritual transcendence, and corporal change, often via the prism of various women saints. The end of a relationship—a topic handled with raw openness elsewhere—is shot heavenward here, supported by the lush presence of a full symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning composer among a vast list of contributors. Its sheer ambition alone renders the work of contemporary pop stars appear rather small.
Transcending Academic Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to avoid dry intellectual chin-stroking feels nothing short of a miracle, and full praise belonging to the artist. Although it's not the first time project to fuse the past and modern styles, the ambitions feel much greater here, with the tightrope walk far more pronounced. The element that truly elevates her fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, dense compositions, and engrained drama, proves to be a core sense of playfulness. Much like the legendary artist during her peak, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's voice which sweeps you up in its whirlwind. When she's breaking hearts in two, you still desire to be alongside her through the ride.
A Prime Moment of Joy
This playful energy comes forth clearly during a stunning Italian ballad about a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool for several moments. Then, all the music falls away, and we hear a spontaneous laugh and a comment before a comically exaggerated string surge thuds down with cartoonish force. The track immediately shifts to the wild single featuring galloping strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The charm of Lux lies in the listener never quite know—nor want to predict—what it will go to next."
Almost every track ends at a totally distinct place from how it began. A track explores the transient trappings of fame over a delicate symphony before disintegrating into digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's earlier trap-infused work begins off dark and brooding, featuring menacing vocals, until sudden traditional rhythms and a heavenly choir enter to soften its jagged corners.
The Balance Between Art and Accessibility
A key balancing act on the album involves straddling the line of bold innovation and broad accessibility. It is little coincidence that the album has become her first release to crack the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable hits. One track sung primarily in the English language swells on a chorus that seems to collect more and more nagging melodies as it spins upward. This trick gets repeated by another powerful ballad that grows and constricts, intertwining multiple melodies like a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused number seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the cultural honesty of other breakup songs, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing have a painted-on edge, like a storybook figure concealing a knife: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
This album is pop on a grand scale, a hungry reach for high Art amid of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious transcendence, creating a dramatic spectacle that skillfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep well of hidden treasure that requires time to fully explore but never feels like hard work. While some big pop albums of the year felt like a meager meal, Lux offers a lavish banquet where the characters around the table, perhaps tipsy on holy drink, flit from conversations about ancient figures, the profound sensation of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about hopeless men. It is a modern-day theatrical production from pop's most restlessly creative visionary.
