On the surface, this work could seem closer to an arduous university challenge than a new popular music project by an artist who just had a last single featured an international pop star. Divided across 4 distinct parts and sung in 13 languages, it is a breathtaking symphonic album investigating female mystique, religious ascent, and corporal change, frequently through the prism of various women saints. The end of a relationship—a topic treated with raw honesty elsewhere—is launched skyward here, supported by the constant sound of a full orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer among a long list of collaborators. The pure ambition by itself makes the efforts of contemporary artists seem rather small.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
The fact that this album manages to escape dry intellectual chin-stroking is nothing short of a miracle, with complete praise belonging to Rosalía. While this is not the first time project to alchemize the past with the present, its scale feel far greater here, and the tightrope walk far more dramatic. The element that really raises this fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is a core sense of joy. Much like the legendary artist during her peak, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener up in its whirlwind. When she's breaking hearts in two, the listener still desire to be alongside her for the journey.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
That exuberant energy comes forth brightly on the stirring Italian ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy over more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls away, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh and a comment before a comically exaggerated string crescendo crashes down with comedic force. The track immediately segues to the wild single driven by racing orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a surprise appearance from the artist herself.
"The charm with this album is that you never quite know—nor want to predict—where you is going to next."
Nearly every track finishes at a completely distinct place from where it started. One moment examines the transient nature of fame over a delicate orchestration before disintegrating in digital cacophony. Another, a song echoing the artist's earlier rhythmic style begins off moody and sinister, with menacing beats, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and an angelic chorus enter to soften the song's rough edges.
The Bridge Of Art and Pop
A key balancing act on Lux is straddling the gap between bold innovation and broad appeal. It is no surprise that the album has become the artist's highest-charting release to crack the Top 5 of major charts: its heart contains a collection of truly catchy hits. One track sung entirely in the English language swells on a refrain that feels to gather increasingly nagging hooks as it spins upward. That trick is repeated on another expansive ballad that grows and contracts, intertwining multiple tunes like an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused song seduces via its jaunty, theatrical drama and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it aligns the cultural honesty of other breakup anthems, eviscerating an ex- partner described as an "psychological bully".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on smile, like a fairy-tale character hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
This album is pop on a grand level, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art amid of impending artificial sameness. It rejects self-absorption for sublime transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that skillfully controls its own built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep well of buried treasure that requires patience to fully explore but doesn't seem like hard work. Where other major releases of the year seemed like a meager meal, this record is a lavish feast at which the guests around it, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flit from conversations about historical saints, the profound feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from pop's most endlessly creative practitioner.
