At first glance, this work may look more like a difficult academic examination rather than the latest pop project from an artist whose previous single was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Divided into 4 distinct parts and performed in 13 languages, it is a head-spinning orchestral-influenced opus that delves into feminine mystery, religious transcendence, and physical transformation, frequently through the lens of different female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme handled with grounded openness elsewhere—is launched skyward on this record, buoyed by the lush sound of a major symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning composer within a long roll call of collaborators. Its sheer ambition by itself makes the efforts of other artists look rather small.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
The fact that this album succeeds in escape dry academic posturing feels almost miraculous, and complete credit going to the artist. While this is not the first time album to alchemize the past with the present, its scale feel much higher here, and the balancing act far more precarious. The element that really elevates her fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and inherent drama, is an essential sense of playfulness. Much like the legendary artist during her height, you find a wondrous sense to the vocalist's singing which sweeps you up in its whirlwind. Even when she's tearing hearts apart, the listener still want to be alongside her through the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
This exuberant energy comes forth clearly on a stirring piano-led song about Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over several moments. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a comment before a comically over-the-top orchestral crescendo thuds down with comedic force. The track then segues to the frenetic single driven by galloping orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from the artist Björk.
"The magic of this album lies in the listener rarely exactly understand—nor want to know—where it will go to next."
Nearly every song finishes at a totally different place than where it started. A track explores the fleeting trappings of celebrity over a featherlight orchestration only to collapsing in electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's previous rhythmic style starts off moody and brooding, featuring menacing beats, before fluttering traditional handclaps and an angelic choir enter to soften the song's rough edges.
The Balance Between Art and Pop
A key balancing act on the album is straddling the gap between radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. It is little coincidence that the album has achieved her first work to break into the Top 5 of key markets: at its core a suite of truly catchy hits. A song performed entirely in English swells around a chorus that seems to collect more and more nagging melodies as it spirals upward. This trick gets repeated by another expansive ballad that grows and contracts, intertwining layered melodies like a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like song charms with its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it shares the pop culture impact of other heartbreak songs, lambasting an ex- lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Across these tracks, the singing have a painted-on smile, akin to a storybook character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
This album is popular music on a maximalist level, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art amid of looming artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of glorious transcendence, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully controls its inherent excess. This is a deep well of buried treasure that requires patience to fully mine but doesn't feels like hard work. Where some major pop albums of the year seemed like a meager scraps, Lux is a sumptuous feast at which the guests at the table, some intoxicated on holy wine, flit from conversations about ancient figures, the profound sensation of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about useless partners. It is a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly endlessly creative visionary.
