On the surface, this album may look more like a challenging scholarly examination rather than a new pop project from an artist whose last single featured a global pop icon. Broken across four distinct parts and performed in 13 languages, it is a dizzying symphonic work investigating female mystery, spiritual ascent, and corporal transformation, frequently through the lens of various women saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic handled with raw openness elsewhere—soars heavenward here, buoyed by the lush sound of a full orchestra and input from an award-winning composer within an extensive list of collaborators. The pure audacity alone makes the efforts of contemporary pop stars look quite laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
That this album manages to avoid overly intellectual posturing feels almost a miracle, with full credit going to the artist. Although it's not the first time album to fuse the past with the present, the ambitions are far higher on Lux, and the balancing act far more precarious. The element that truly raises her fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and inherent theatricality, is a core spirit of fun. Similar to the legendary Björk during her peak, you find a captivating sense to the vocalist's voice which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. When she is breaking your heart in two, you nevertheless want to stay alongside her for the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
That exuberant spirit comes forth brightly during a stunning piano-led ballad inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy for more than four moments. Then, all the music falls away, and we hear a spontaneous giggle followed by a comment prior to a comically exaggerated string surge crashes down with comedic force. The track immediately segues to the frenetic track featuring galloping orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from none other than herself.
"The magic with this album is that the listener rarely exactly understand—or even want to know—what you is going next."
Nearly every song concludes at a completely distinct point from how it began. One moment explores the transient trappings of fame over a featherlight orchestration before collapsing in electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a song echoing the artist's previous rhythmic style starts off dark and sinister, featuring menacing vocals, until fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften the song's jagged edges.
The Balance Between Experiment and Pop
A key achievement of Lux involves navigating the gap between bold innovation and broad accessibility. It is no coincidence that the album has achieved the artist's first release to break into the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a suite of utterly catchy hits. One track performed entirely in English builds around a chorus that feels to gather more and more nagging melodies as it spirals skyward. This feat gets repeated by a different powerful ballad that expands and constricts, intertwining multiple melodies as an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it aligns the pop culture impact of other heartbreak songs, lambasting a former lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Across the album, the singing have a painted-on smile, akin to a storybook figure concealing a knife: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
This album is popular music on a maximalist scale, an ambitious reach for high Art amid of looming artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of glorious elevation, creating a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its own built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep well of buried treasure that requires patience to fully mine but doesn't seem like a chore. While some major releases of the year felt like feasting on meal, Lux offers a sumptuous feast where the characters at the table, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flutter from discussions about historical saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared gossip about hopeless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from pop's truly endlessly creative visionary.
