🔗 Share this article

At first glance, this work could seem more like an arduous academic examination than the latest pop project from a musician who just had a last hit featured a global pop icon. Broken across four distinct sections and sung in 13 languages, it is a head-spinning symphonic work investigating feminine mystery, spiritual transcendence, and corporal transformation, often via the lens of different female saints. The end of a love affair—a topic handled with raw honesty elsewhere—soars heavenward here, supported by the lush sound of a major symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning composer among an extensive roll call of contributors. Its sheer ambition alone renders the work of other artists seem quite modest.

Rising Above Scholarly Exercise

That this album manages to transcend dry academic chin-stroking is nothing short of miraculous, with sole praise going to Rosalía. While this is not her first project to fuse historical sounds with the present, the scale are far higher on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more dramatic. The element that truly raises this fourth album, beyond its complex tunes, rich compositions, and inherent theatricality, is a core spirit of fun. Similar to the iconic artist at her peak, you find a wondrous quality to the vocalist's singing which sweeps you up in its whirlwind. When she is breaking hearts in two, you still want to stay alongside her for the journey.

A Signature Example of Joy

This playful spirit shines brightly on a stirring piano-led ballad inspired by a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four minutes. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal there's a gleeful laugh and a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated string surge crashes down with comedic impact. The track then shifts to the wild track featuring racing strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than Björk.

"The charm of Lux lies in the listener rarely exactly know—or even want to predict—where you will go to next."

Almost every song ends in a totally different place than how it started. A track explores the transient nature of celebrity over a featherlight orchestration before collapsing into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic style starts off dark and brooding, with menacing vocals, before sudden flamenco rhythms and an angelic chorus arrive to smooth the song's jagged edges.

The Bridge Of Experiment & Accessibility

A key achievement on the album is navigating the line of radical innovation and broad accessibility. This is no surprise that it has achieved the artist's first work to crack the Top 5 of key charts: at its core a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. A song performed entirely in English swells around a chorus that feels to gather more and more infectious melodies as it spirals upward. That trick gets echoed by a different powerful track that expands and contracts, weaving layered tunes as an intricate weave.

• A dance-infused number charms with its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along hook.
• In its words, it aligns with pop culture impact of other heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former lover labeled an "psychological bully".
• Across the album, the vocals carry a sharp edge, akin to a fairy-tale character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."

A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul

This album represents popular music on a grand level, a hungry reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming AI-generated blankness. It rejects solipsism in favor of sublime transcendence, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its built-in excess. It is a deep source of buried treasure that requires time to completely explore but never seem like hard work. Where some major releases of the year felt like feasting on scraps, this record is a lavish feast at which the guests around it, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flutter between discussions about historical figures, the profound sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and common gossip about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly endlessly inventive visionary.