On the surface, this album could seem more like an arduous scholarly quiz than the latest popular music project from a musician whose previous single featured a global pop star. Split into 4 separate parts and performed in 13 languages, we have a dizzying classical-tinged work exploring feminine mystery, spiritual transcendence, and corporal transformation, frequently through the lens of various saintly figures. The end of a relationship—a theme treated with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot heavenward on this record, supported by the constant sound of a major orchestra and input from an award-winning composer within an extensive roll call of collaborators. Its sheer ambition alone renders the work of contemporary pop stars appear rather small.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
That Lux manages to escape dry intellectual posturing is nearly miraculous, and complete credit belonging to the artist. While it's not the first time project to alchemize historical sounds and modern styles, its scale are far higher on Lux, and the balancing act more precarious. What really raises her fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, dense compositions, and engrained drama, is a core sense of joy. Similar to the iconic artist during her peak, you find a wondrous sense to the vocalist's voice which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. When she's breaking hearts apart, the listener still desire to be alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Joy
That exuberant spirit comes forth brightly on a stunning Italian song about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for several minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls away, and we hear a spontaneous laugh and a declaration before a hilariously over-the-top string crescendo thuds down with cartoonish force. The track then segues to the wild track driven by racing strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo appearance from none other than Björk.
"The magic of Lux is that the listener rarely quite understand—nor wish to know—what it will go next."
Nearly each song finishes in a totally distinct point than how it began. One moment examines the fleeting nature of fame with a delicate symphony before collapsing in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing her earlier trap-infused work starts off moody and brooding, featuring prowling beats, until fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly choir enter to smooth the song's rough edges.
The Bridge Between Art & Pop
Another crucial achievement on the album involves straddling the gap between radical innovation and broad appeal. This is no surprise that it has become her highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable pop songs. A song sung primarily in the English language builds on a refrain that feels to collect more and more nagging hooks while it spins skyward. That trick gets repeated on another powerful ballad that expands and contracts, weaving multiple melodies like a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms via its playful, theatrical drama and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the cultural honesty of other heartbreak songs, lambasting an ex- partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Across the album, the vocals have a painted-on smile, like a fairy-tale character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
This album is popular music on a maximalist scale, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art amid of looming artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. This is an abundant well of buried treasure that requires time to completely explore but doesn't feels like hard work. While some major pop albums of the year seemed like a meager scraps, Lux is a lavish banquet where the characters around it, some tipsy on holy drink, flutter from discussions about historical figures, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about useless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from pop's most restlessly inventive practitioner.
