At first glance, Lux may look more like a difficult university examination rather than a new pop record from a musician whose previous single featured a global pop star. Broken into four separate movements and sung in thirteen languages, this is a dizzying symphonic work investigating feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and physical change, frequently through the prism of various female saints. The end of a romance—a topic treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—soars upwards on this record, supported by the constant sound of a major orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a long list of collaborators. Its sheer daring alone renders the efforts of other artists seem rather laughable.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
That Lux manages to transcend overly intellectual chin-stroking feels nearly miraculous, with sole praise going to the artist. While it's not the first time project to fuse the past and the present, its ambitions are much greater on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more precarious. What truly elevates her fourth release, beyond its multilayered tunes, dense arrangements, and inherent theatricality, proves to be a core spirit of fun. Similar to the iconic Björk at her peak, there is a wondrous quality to the vocalist's voice that pulls the listener up in its tornado. When she is breaking your heart in two, you nevertheless want to be right there through the ride.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
That exuberant spirit shines clearly during the stunning piano-led song about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for several moments. Suddenly, all the music drops silent, to reveal there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a declaration before a comically exaggerated string crescendo thuds in with cartoonish force. The track immediately shifts into the wild track featuring racing strings, a powerful choral group, and a surprise appearance from the artist herself.
"The magic with this album lies in the listener never exactly understand—nor want to know—what you is going next."
Nearly each song ends in a completely different point from how it started. A track explores the transient trappings of fame over a featherlight orchestration before collapsing in digital chaos. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's previous rhythmic style starts out moody and sinister, featuring prowling beats, before sudden flamenco handclaps and a heavenly chorus enter to smooth its rough corners.
The Bridge Of Experiment & Accessibility
A key achievement on the album is straddling the gap between bold experimentation and broad appeal. It is no coincidence that it has become her highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of major markets: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy pop songs. One track performed entirely in English swells around a chorus that seems to gather increasingly nagging hooks while it spirals skyward. That trick is repeated on a different powerful track that expands and constricts, intertwining multiple tunes like a complex weave.
- A dance-infused song charms with its playful, theatrical flair and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares the cultural honesty of other heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former partner described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Across the album, the singing have a painted-on smile, akin to a fairy-tale figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You have won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
This album is popular music on a maximalist scale, an ambitious reach for high Art in an era of impending artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of glorious transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully controls its own inherent ridiculousness. It is a deep source of buried gems that requires time to completely explore but doesn't seem like a chore. While other big releases of the year felt like a meager scraps, Lux is a sumptuous feast where the guests around the table, perhaps intoxicated on holy drink, flutter between conversations about historical saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and common gossip about hopeless partners. It is a contemporary musical from music's most restlessly inventive visionary.
