At first glance, this work might appear more like a challenging scholarly quiz rather than a new popular music record by an artist who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with an international pop star. Split into 4 different movements and voiced in thirteen tongues, it is a breathtaking orchestral-influenced opus that delves into feminine mystique, religious transcendence, and bodily transformation, often via the prism of different women saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme treated with grounded openness elsewhere—is launched skyward on this record, buoyed by the lush sound of a full orchestra and work from an award-winning composer within a vast list of contributors. Its sheer daring alone makes the efforts of other pop stars seem quite small.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
The fact that this album succeeds in escape dry intellectual chin-stroking feels almost a miracle, with complete praise belonging to the artist. While it's not the first time album to alchemize historical sounds with modern styles, the ambitions are far greater here, and the balancing act far more pronounced. The element that really elevates this fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, dense arrangements, and inherent theatricality, is an essential sense of joy. Similar to the legendary Björk during her height, there is a captivating quality to the vocalist's singing which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. Even when she's breaking your heart apart, you nevertheless desire to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Exuberance
This exuberant spirit comes forth clearly on the stirring piano-led ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over more than four moments. Then, all the music falls silent, and we hear a spontaneous laugh followed by a comment prior to a hilariously exaggerated string surge crashes down like cartoonish force. The track then segues to the frenetic single featuring galloping orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from none other than herself.
"The charm with Lux is that you rarely exactly understand—or even want to know—where it will go next."
Almost each track ends in a completely different point from how it began. A track examines the transient trappings of celebrity with a featherlight symphony before collapsing in electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a song that recalls her earlier rhythmic work starts off dark and brooding, with menacing vocals, until sudden traditional handclaps and an angelic choir arrive to soften the song's jagged edges.
The Balance Of Art and Pop
Another crucial achievement on Lux involves navigating the gap between bold innovation and broad accessibility. It is no surprise that the album has become the artist's first release to break into the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy hits. One track sung entirely in English builds around a chorus that seems to collect increasingly nagging melodies as it spins upward. This feat gets repeated on a different expansive track that grows and constricts, weaving layered tunes like a complex weave.
- A dance-infused song charms via its playful, theatrical drama and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares with pop culture impact of other breakup anthems, lambasting an ex- partner labeled an "psychological bully".
- Across these tracks, the vocals carry a sharp smile, like a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Soul
Lux represents popular music on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of impending artificial blankness. It rejects solipsism for sublime elevation, crafting a dramatic spectacle that masterfully manages its inherent ridiculousness. This is an abundant source of hidden gems that takes time to completely mine but doesn't seem like hard work. While some big releases of the year felt like feasting on meal, Lux offers a sumptuous feast at which the characters at it, some intoxicated on holy wine, flit between discussions about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and shared gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from music's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
