At first glance, this work might appear more like an arduous academic quiz rather than the latest pop project from a musician whose previous single featured an international K-pop icon. Broken across four different sections and voiced in thirteen tongues, it is a head-spinning symphonic album exploring female mystique, religious ascent, and physical change, frequently by way of the prism of different female saints. The end of a romance—a theme handled with raw openness elsewhere—is shot upwards here, supported by the lush sound of a full orchestra and work from an award-winning composer among a long list of collaborators. Its sheer audacity by itself renders the efforts of contemporary artists seem rather laughable.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That this album succeeds in avoid overly academic posturing is almost a miracle, with complete credit belonging to the artist. While it's not her first album to fuse the past and the present, its ambitions feel far higher here, and the balancing act more dramatic. What really raises this fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, rich compositions, and engrained drama, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the legendary Björk at her height, you find a wondrous quality to Rosalía's voice that pulls the listener into its tornado. When she is breaking your heart apart, the listener still want to stay right there for the ride.
A Signature Example of Exuberance
That playful spirit comes forth clearly during a stirring Italian ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy for several minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls away, to reveal there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a comment before a comically exaggerated string surge crashes in like cartoonish impact. The song then segues to the frenetic track driven by galloping strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The charm with this album is that the listener never quite know—or even wish to know—what it will go to next."
Almost each song concludes in a totally distinct point than where it started. One moment explores the transient trappings of celebrity with a delicate orchestration only to disintegrating in electronic cacophony. Another, a song echoing her previous trap-infused work starts out moody and brooding, with prowling beats, before fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir enter to soften the song's rough corners.
The Balance Between Experiment & Pop
Another crucial achievement on the album involves navigating the line of radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. It is no coincidence that it has achieved her first release to break into the Top 5 of major markets: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable hits. A song performed primarily in English builds around a chorus that seems to collect more and more nagging melodies while it spins skyward. That feat is echoed by a different expansive ballad that grows and contracts, weaving multiple melodies as a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like number seduces via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it shares the cultural impact of other heartbreak anthems, eviscerating a former partner described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Across the album, the vocals have a sharp smile, akin to a fairy-tale figure concealing a blade: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album is popular music on a grand level, an ambitious reach for high Art in an era of looming artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully controls its own inherent excess. This is an abundant source of hidden gems that requires time to fully mine but never seem like a chore. While other major pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, Lux offers a lavish feast at which the characters around the table, some tipsy on holy wine, flutter between conversations about ancient figures, the profound sensation of heartbreaking grief, and common stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from pop's most endlessly creative visionary.
