On the surface, this album might appear more like an arduous university challenge rather than the latest popular music record by an artist who just had a last single was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Divided across 4 different sections and performed in 13 tongues, we have a breathtaking orchestral-influenced album investigating female mystery, religious transcendence, and physical transformation, frequently via the lens of different female saints. The end of a love affair—a topic treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—soars heavenward on this record, buoyed by the lush presence of a full orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning composer within an extensive roll call of contributors. Its sheer daring by itself makes the work of contemporary pop stars seem quite modest.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
The fact that Lux manages to transcend dry academic posturing is nearly a miracle, and full praise belonging to the artist. While this is not her first project to alchemize historical sounds with modern styles, its scale are much higher here, with the balancing act far more pronounced. The element that really elevates her fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, dense arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of joy. Similar to the legendary Björk during her peak, you find a wondrous sense to the vocalist's singing which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. When she is tearing hearts in two, the listener still want to stay alongside her for the journey.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That exuberant spirit shines clearly on a stirring Italian ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four minutes. Then, all the music falls away, to reveal there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a comment prior to a comically over-the-top orchestral crescendo crashes down like cartoonish impact. The song then shifts to the frenetic single driven by racing strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The charm of this album is that the listener never exactly understand—or even wish to predict—where you will go to next."
Nearly every song finishes at a totally different place than how it began. A track examines the fleeting trappings of celebrity with a featherlight orchestration before collapsing in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing the artist's previous trap-infused style starts off dark and sinister, with prowling vocals, before sudden traditional handclaps and an angelic chorus enter to soften the song's rough edges.
The Balance Between Art and Pop
Another crucial balancing act of the album involves navigating the gap between bold experimentation and broad appeal. This is no coincidence that the album has achieved the artist's first work to break into the upper reaches of key markets: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy pop songs. A song performed primarily in English builds on a chorus that feels to collect increasingly infectious hooks as it spins upward. That trick is echoed on another expansive track that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple tunes as an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms via its jaunty, theatrical drama and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares with cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "psychological bully".
- Across the album, the vocals carry a sharp edge, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Soul
Lux represents popular music on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of impending AI-generated sameness. It rejects solipsism in favor of glorious transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its inherent excess. It is a deep well of hidden gems that requires time to fully explore but doesn't seem like hard work. Where other big releases of the year seemed like a meager scraps, this record is a lavish banquet at which the guests around it, some tipsy on sacred drink, flit from discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and common gossip about useless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from pop's most restlessly inventive practitioner.
