On the surface, this album could seem more like a difficult scholarly examination rather than a new pop record from a musician whose previous hit was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Divided into 4 separate sections and sung in thirteen languages, it is a head-spinning orchestral-influenced opus that delves into female mystery, spiritual ascent, and bodily change, frequently via the prism of different saintly figures. The end of a relationship—a theme handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—is shot skyward on this record, buoyed by the lush presence of a full orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer among an extensive roll call of contributors. The pure audacity alone makes the work of contemporary artists seem quite small.
Transcending Academic Exercise
That Lux manages to escape overly academic chin-stroking is nearly miraculous, and full praise going to the artist. While this is not her first project to alchemize the past and modern styles, the scale are far greater here, with the tightrope walk far more dramatic. What truly raises her fourth album, beyond its multilayered melodies, rich compositions, and engrained drama, is a core sense of fun. Similar to the iconic artist at her peak, there is a wondrous quality to the vocalist's voice which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. Even when she is breaking hearts in two, you nevertheless want to be right there through the journey.
A Prime Example of Joy
This exuberant spirit comes forth clearly on a stirring piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy over several moments. Then, everything drops silent, and there's a spontaneous giggle and a comment before a comically over-the-top orchestral surge crashes in like cartoonish force. The song immediately shifts to the wild track driven by racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo appearance from the artist Björk.
"The charm with this album is that the listener rarely quite know—nor wish to predict—what it will go next."
Nearly every track finishes in a completely distinct place than where it started. A track examines the fleeting nature of fame over a delicate symphony only to disintegrating into electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a song that recalls her previous trap-infused style begins off moody and brooding, featuring prowling beats, until sudden flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to soften its rough corners.
The Balance Of Experiment & Accessibility
A key balancing act on Lux involves straddling the line of radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. This is little surprise that the album has become the artist's first work to crack the Top 5 of major markets: at its core a suite of truly undeniable hits. A song performed primarily in English swells around a refrain that feels to collect increasingly infectious melodies as it spins upward. That trick is repeated by another expansive ballad that grows and constricts, weaving multiple melodies like an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused number seduces via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares the cultural honesty of contemporary breakup anthems, lambasting a former lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on edge, like a storybook figure concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
Lux represents pop on a grand scale, a hungry reach for high artistry in an era of looming artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism for glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that skillfully controls its own inherent ridiculousness. This is an abundant well of hidden gems that takes patience to completely explore but doesn't seem like a chore. While other big releases of the year felt like a meager scraps, this record is a lavish feast at which the characters around the table, some intoxicated on holy wine, flutter between discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common gossip about useless men. It is a modern-day theatrical production from pop's truly restlessly creative practitioner.
