At first glance, this work might appear more like a challenging scholarly examination rather than the latest popular music album from an artist whose previous hit featured an international K-pop star. Divided into four separate sections and voiced in 13 tongues, this is a dizzying classical-tinged album exploring female mystique, religious transcendence, and bodily change, often through the perspective of various women saints. The end of a romance—a theme handled with raw honesty elsewhere—is launched heavenward here, supported by the lush sound of a full orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer among a long roll call of collaborators. Its sheer daring alone makes the efforts of other artists seem quite modest.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That this album succeeds in escape dry academic posturing is nothing short of miraculous, and sole praise going to Rosalía. While this is not her first album to alchemize the past with the present, its scale are much greater on Lux, and the tightrope walk more precarious. What truly elevates her fourth album, beyond its complex melodies, rich compositions, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential spirit of joy. Much like the iconic artist at her height, there is a wondrous quality to the vocalist's singing which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. When she is tearing your heart apart, you still desire to be right there through the ride.
A Signature Example of Joy
This playful energy shines brightly during a stirring piano-led ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four minutes. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal there's a gleeful giggle followed by a comment before a comically over-the-top orchestral crescendo thuds down like cartoonish force. The song immediately shifts to the frenetic track driven by galloping orchestration, a powerful choir, and a surprise role from the artist Björk.
"The magic of this album lies in you never exactly understand—nor wish to know—what it will go to next."
Almost every track finishes at a totally distinct place than how it began. A track examines the transient nature of fame with a featherlight orchestration only to collapsing in digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's previous trap-infused style starts out dark and sinister, featuring menacing vocals, until sudden traditional rhythms and a heavenly chorus arrive to smooth the song's jagged corners.
The Balance Between Art and Accessibility
A key balancing act on the album is straddling the line between bold innovation and mainstream appeal. It is no surprise that it has achieved the artist's highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of key markets: its heart contains a suite of utterly undeniable pop songs. A song performed primarily in English builds around a chorus that feels to collect more and more infectious melodies as it spins upward. That feat gets repeated by a different powerful ballad that grows and contracts, weaving layered tunes like a complex weave.
- A waltz-like song charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it shares with pop culture impact of contemporary heartbreak anthems, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the singing carry a sharp smile, like a storybook character hiding a blade: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Soul
This album is popular music on a grand scale, a hungry reach for capital-A Art in an era of impending artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic spectacle that masterfully manages its own built-in excess. This is a deep well of buried gems that requires patience to fully explore but never feels like hard work. While other big releases of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, this record is a sumptuous banquet where the guests around the table, perhaps intoxicated on holy drink, flutter from discussions about ancient saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and common stories about hopeless partners. It is a modern-day musical from music's most endlessly creative practitioner.
