At first glance, this work could seem more like a difficult academic challenge rather than a new popular music album by an artist whose previous single was a collaboration with an international K-pop icon. Broken across 4 separate movements and voiced in thirteen tongues, it is a head-spinning classical-tinged work that delves into female mystique, spiritual ascent, and physical transformation, often via the lens of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic treated with raw openness elsewhere—is shot heavenward here, carried by the constant sound of a major symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning composer among a long roll call of collaborators. Its sheer daring alone makes the efforts of contemporary pop stars seem quite small.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
The fact that Lux succeeds in transcend dry intellectual posturing feels almost miraculous, and full praise going to the artist. Although it's not her first project to blend historical sounds and the present, the ambitions feel much higher on Lux, and the tightrope walk more pronounced. What really elevates this fourth release, beyond its multilayered melodies, dense arrangements, and inherent drama, proves to be an essential spirit of fun. Much like the iconic Björk during her height, you find a captivating sense to the vocalist's singing that pulls you up in its tornado. When she's tearing hearts in two, the listener still want to be alongside her for the journey.
A Prime Example of Joy
That exuberant spirit shines brightly on the stirring piano-led song about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy over several moments. Suddenly, all the music falls silent, and there's a gleeful laugh and a declaration before a hilariously over-the-top string surge thuds in like cartoonish force. The track then segues to the frenetic track driven by galloping strings, an imposing choral group, and a surprise appearance from none other than Björk.
"The charm with this album is that you never exactly know—nor want to know—what you is going to next."
Nearly each track finishes in a totally distinct place than how it began. A track examines the transient nature of celebrity with a delicate symphony before disintegrating in electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing her previous rhythmic work begins off dark and sinister, with prowling beats, until fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir enter to smooth its jagged corners.
The Balance Between Art & Accessibility
Another crucial achievement of Lux involves straddling the gap of radical innovation and mainstream appeal. It is no coincidence that the album has achieved her first work to break into the upper reaches of major markets: at its core a suite of utterly undeniable hits. A song performed primarily in English builds around a refrain that seems to gather more and more infectious hooks as it spirals skyward. This trick gets echoed on another expansive track that grows and constricts, weaving multiple melodies as a complex weave.
- A dance-infused number seduces with its playful, theatrical drama and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares with cultural honesty of contemporary heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former partner labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a sharp edge, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
Lux represents popular music on a maximalist scale, an ambitious grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of looming artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of glorious transcendence, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its own built-in excess. It is an abundant source of buried treasure that takes patience to completely explore but doesn't seem like a chore. While some major pop albums of the year felt like feasting on meal, Lux offers a sumptuous feast at which the guests around it, some tipsy on holy wine, flutter between discussions about ancient saints, the profound feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common gossip about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's truly endlessly creative practitioner.
