At first glance, this album could seem more like a difficult university challenge rather than a new pop project by an artist who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop star. Split across four separate sections and performed in thirteen tongues, we have a head-spinning symphonic album that delves into female mystique, religious transcendence, and corporal change, often via the prism of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a romance—a topic handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—soars skyward on this record, carried by the lush sound of a full symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning composer within a vast list of contributors. Its sheer ambition alone renders the efforts of other artists look quite small.
Transcending Academic Pretense
The fact that this album manages to escape overly intellectual posturing feels nothing short of a miracle, with sole credit going to the artist. While it's not the first time project to alchemize the past with the present, the scale are far higher on Lux, with the tightrope walk more pronounced. What truly elevates this fourth release, beyond its multilayered melodies, dense compositions, and engrained drama, is a core spirit of playfulness. Much like the legendary Björk at her height, there is a wondrous sense to the vocalist's voice which sweeps you up in its tornado. Even when she is breaking your heart apart, the listener nevertheless desire to be right there through the ride.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
This exuberant energy comes forth brightly on the stunning piano-led song inspired by a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy over more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous laugh followed by a comment prior to a comically exaggerated orchestral surge crashes down like comedic force. The track immediately shifts to the frenetic track featuring racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from none other than herself.
"The magic of this album lies in the listener never quite know—nor wish to know—what you will go next."
Almost every song ends in a totally different place from how it started. One moment explores the fleeting trappings of fame with a delicate symphony before collapsing into digital cacophony. Another, a song that recalls her earlier rhythmic style begins out moody and brooding, with menacing vocals, before fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly chorus enter to soften the song's rough edges.
The Bridge Between Experiment and Accessibility
A key balancing act of Lux is straddling the gap between radical experimentation and mainstream accessibility. It is no surprise that the album has become the artist's first work to break into the Top 5 of major charts: at its core a suite of truly undeniable pop songs. A song sung primarily in the English language swells on a chorus that seems to collect more and more infectious hooks as it spins skyward. That feat is echoed on another expansive track that grows and contracts, weaving layered tunes as an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like song charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it shares the cultural impact of other breakup songs, lambasting a former partner labeled an "emotional bully".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
Lux is pop on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for high artistry in an era of impending AI-generated sameness. It rejects solipsism for sublime transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep well of hidden gems that takes time to completely mine but never feels like hard work. Where other big pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, this record is a lavish feast at which the guests around it, perhaps tipsy on sacred wine, flutter between conversations about ancient saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about hopeless men. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from pop's most endlessly creative practitioner.
