On the surface, this album may look more like an arduous academic examination than a new popular music record by a musician whose last hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop icon. Divided across four separate movements and sung in thirteen languages, it is a dizzying classical-tinged opus investigating feminine mystery, spiritual transcendence, and corporal transformation, frequently through the lens of different women saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—soars heavenward here, buoyed by the lush sound of a major symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter among an extensive list of contributors. Its sheer ambition by itself renders the efforts of other artists appear rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
The fact that this album manages to transcend dry academic posturing feels almost a miracle, with full praise going to the artist. While it's not her first album to blend the past and modern styles, its ambitions are much higher on Lux, with the balancing act more dramatic. What truly elevates her fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, dense arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is a core spirit of playfulness. Similar to the iconic artist at her peak, there is a captivating quality to the vocalist's voice that pulls the listener up in its tornado. When she is breaking your heart in two, you still want to be alongside her for the journey.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That exuberant spirit comes forth brightly on the stunning piano-led song about a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops away, and there's a gleeful laugh and a declaration prior to a comically exaggerated orchestral surge thuds down like comedic impact. The track then shifts into the frenetic track featuring galloping strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The magic of this album is that the listener rarely quite know—or even want to know—what it is going to next."
Nearly every track concludes at a completely different point than where it started. A track explores the transient trappings of fame over a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating into digital chaos. Another, a song echoing her earlier trap-infused style starts out dark and sinister, with prowling beats, before sudden flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to soften its jagged edges.
The Bridge Between Art & Pop
Another crucial achievement on Lux is navigating the gap between bold experimentation and broad appeal. This is no coincidence that it has achieved her first work to break into the Top 5 of key markets: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. One track sung entirely in the English language builds on a refrain that feels to gather increasingly infectious melodies as it spirals upward. That trick is repeated on a different expansive ballad that grows and constricts, intertwining multiple melodies as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like number seduces with its playful, theatrical flair and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it aligns with cultural impact of other heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former lover described as an "psychological bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a sharp edge, like a storybook character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
Lux represents popular music on a grand scale, a hungry reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming AI-generated blankness. It eschews solipsism for sublime elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its own inherent ridiculousness. This is an abundant well of hidden gems that takes time to fully explore but doesn't seem like a chore. Where some major releases of the year felt like a meager meal, this record offers a sumptuous banquet at which the guests around the table, perhaps intoxicated on sacred wine, flutter between conversations about ancient figures, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's most endlessly inventive visionary.
