On the surface, this work might appear closer to a difficult academic challenge than the latest pop album by a musician who just had a previous single featured an international pop icon. Divided into four different movements and sung in thirteen languages, we have a dizzying orchestral-influenced album investigating feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and bodily change, frequently through the perspective of various saintly figures. The dissolution of a romance—a theme treated with grounded openness elsewhere—soars skyward here, supported by the lush presence of a full symphony orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a vast roll call of collaborators. The pure daring by itself makes the work of contemporary artists seem quite modest.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
The fact that Lux manages to avoid overly academic posturing feels nothing short of miraculous, with complete praise belonging to the artist. While it's not the first time album to fuse historical sounds with the present, its ambitions feel far greater here, with the balancing act far more dramatic. The element that truly elevates her fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, dense compositions, and engrained drama, proves to be an essential spirit of playfulness. Much like the iconic artist at her height, you find a wondrous sense to the vocalist's voice that pulls you into its whirlwind. When she's tearing your heart in two, the listener nevertheless desire to be alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Joy
This exuberant energy comes forth brightly on the stunning Italian song inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four minutes. Then, all the music drops away, and there's a gleeful giggle and a comment before a comically exaggerated string crescendo thuds in with cartoonish force. The track then segues into the wild single featuring racing strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The charm of Lux lies in the listener never quite know—or even want to know—what you will go next."
Almost each song ends at a totally distinct point from how it started. A track examines the transient nature of fame over a featherlight orchestration only to disintegrating into digital chaos. Another, a song echoing her previous rhythmic work starts off moody and brooding, with prowling beats, until fluttering flamenco rhythms and an angelic choir enter to soften the song's rough corners.
The Bridge Between Art and Pop
A key achievement on Lux involves straddling the gap between radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. This is little coincidence that it has become the artist's first release to crack the upper reaches of major charts: at its core a collection of truly catchy pop songs. One track sung primarily in English swells around a refrain that seems to gather more and more nagging hooks as it spirals skyward. That feat gets repeated by another expansive track that grows and contracts, intertwining layered melodies like a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused number charms with its jaunty, theatrical drama and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns with pop culture honesty of other heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former lover labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Across the album, the singing have a sharp smile, like a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
Lux is pop on a maximalist scale, an ambitious reach for high artistry amid of impending AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism in favor of glorious transcendence, creating a dramatic spectacle that masterfully controls its own built-in excess. It is an abundant well of hidden gems that requires patience to fully explore but never feels like hard work. Where some big pop albums of the year felt like feasting on meal, this record is a sumptuous feast where the guests around it, perhaps intoxicated on holy drink, flit from conversations about historical figures, the profound sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and common gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from music's truly restlessly creative practitioner.
