At first glance, Lux may look more like an arduous university challenge rather than a new popular music project from an artist who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international pop star. Split across 4 different parts and performed in 13 languages, we have a dizzying classical-tinged album that delves into feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and corporal transformation, frequently through the lens of different female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a topic treated with raw openness elsewhere—soars skyward here, carried by the lush presence of a full orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter within a vast list of collaborators. The pure daring by itself makes the efforts of contemporary pop stars seem quite small.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
The fact that this album succeeds in avoid overly intellectual posturing is nearly miraculous, with full credit going to the artist. Although this is not the first time project to fuse the past and the present, the stakes feel much higher here, with the balancing act far more precarious. The element that really raises this fourth album, beyond its multilayered tunes, dense compositions, and engrained drama, proves to be an essential spirit of fun. Similar to the legendary artist at her height, you find a captivating quality to the vocalist's voice which sweeps you into its tornado. When she's breaking hearts in two, the listener nevertheless desire to stay alongside her for the journey.
A Signature Moment of Joy
This exuberant spirit comes forth brightly during the stirring Italian song inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy over several moments. Then, everything drops silent, to reveal there's a gleeful laugh followed by a comment before a comically over-the-top string surge thuds in like cartoonish force. The track then segues to the wild track driven by racing orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a surprise role from none other than Björk.
"The magic with Lux lies in you never quite know—nor want to predict—what you is going to next."
Nearly every song finishes at a totally distinct place from how it began. One moment examines the transient nature of celebrity over a featherlight symphony only to collapsing in electronic cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls her earlier rhythmic style starts off moody and brooding, with menacing vocals, until fluttering flamenco handclaps and a heavenly choir arrive to soften its jagged corners.
The Balance Between Art and Accessibility
A key achievement of the album is straddling the gap of bold experimentation and broad accessibility. It is little coincidence that the album has become her first work to break into the Top 5 of key charts: its heart contains a suite of truly catchy hits. A song performed primarily in English swells around a refrain that feels to collect more and more nagging hooks while it spins upward. This trick gets echoed by another powerful track that grows and contracts, weaving multiple tunes as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like number seduces with its playful, theatrical drama and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it shares the pop culture impact of other heartbreak songs, lambasting a former lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the vocals carry a painted-on smile, akin to a fairy-tale figure concealing a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
Lux represents popular music on a grand level, an ambitious reach for high Art in an era of looming AI-generated blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of sublime transcendence, crafting a dramatic spectacle that skillfully controls its own inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant well of buried gems that requires time to fully explore but never feels like hard work. Where some big releases of the year seemed like a meager scraps, Lux offers a sumptuous feast where the guests around it, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flit from discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about hopeless partners. It is a modern-day theatrical production from pop's most endlessly creative practitioner.