Initially, this album might appear more like a difficult academic examination than a new popular music project from a musician who just had a previous single featured a global K-pop star. Broken into 4 separate movements and sung in 13 languages, it is a breathtaking orchestral-influenced opus that delves into feminine mystique, religious ascent, and bodily change, frequently via the lens of different female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot upwards here, supported by the lush presence of a full symphony orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a long list of contributors. The pure daring alone renders the work of other artists look rather modest.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
That this album succeeds in avoid overly academic chin-stroking feels nothing short of miraculous, and full praise belonging to the artist. While it's not the first time project to alchemize the past with the present, the stakes feel far greater on Lux, with the tightrope walk more dramatic. What really elevates her fourth release, beyond its multilayered melodies, dense arrangements, and inherent theatricality, proves to be an essential spirit of playfulness. Much like the iconic Björk at her peak, you find a wondrous sense to the vocalist's singing that pulls you up in its whirlwind. Even when she's tearing hearts in two, the listener still desire to be right there through the ride.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
This exuberant energy shines clearly during the stirring piano-led song about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy for several minutes. Suddenly, everything falls silent, and there's a gleeful laugh followed by a declaration before a comically exaggerated string crescendo crashes down like cartoonish force. The song immediately segues into the wild single featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The charm with Lux is that the listener never quite know—or even want to predict—where it is going next."
Nearly every song concludes at a totally distinct place than how it started. One moment explores the fleeting nature of celebrity over a featherlight symphony before disintegrating into electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a song echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused work begins off moody and brooding, with prowling beats, before sudden flamenco handclaps and an angelic chorus enter to soften its jagged edges.
The Balance Of Experiment and Pop
A key balancing act on Lux involves navigating the line between radical innovation and broad appeal. This is no coincidence that the album has achieved the artist's highest-charting release to break into the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable pop songs. One track performed primarily in the English language swells on a chorus that seems to collect more and more infectious melodies while it spins skyward. That feat gets repeated by a different expansive track that expands and constricts, weaving multiple melodies like a complex weave.
- A waltz-like song charms via its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns the pop culture honesty of other breakup anthems, eviscerating a former partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on smile, like a storybook character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
Lux represents popular music on a maximalist level, an ambitious reach for high Art in an era of impending AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism in favor of glorious transcendence, crafting an over-the-top drama that skillfully manages its own inherent ridiculousness. This is a deep source of buried gems that requires patience to completely mine but doesn't seem like a chore. Where some big releases of the year felt like feasting on scraps, Lux offers a lavish banquet where the characters at the table, some tipsy on sacred drink, flutter from discussions about ancient saints, the profound sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and common gossip about useless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from pop's truly restlessly inventive practitioner.
