At first glance, this work may look more like a challenging scholarly examination than a new popular music album from a musician whose last hit featured an international K-pop star. Divided across four separate sections and sung in 13 languages, this is a head-spinning classical-tinged album exploring female mystery, spiritual ascent, and physical change, frequently via the lens of various saintly figures. The dissolution of a romance—a theme treated with raw honesty elsewhere—is launched skyward here, supported by the constant sound of a full symphony orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a vast list of contributors. The pure ambition alone makes the efforts of contemporary artists look rather modest.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
The fact that this album succeeds in transcend overly academic posturing is nearly a miracle, with complete credit going to the artist. While it's not her first project to alchemize the past with the present, its scale are far higher on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more pronounced. The element that really raises her fourth album, beyond its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and inherent drama, is a core sense of playfulness. Much like the legendary Björk during her peak, there is a captivating sense to the vocalist's voice that pulls the listener into its tornado. Even when she's tearing hearts in two, you still want to be alongside her through the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
That playful spirit comes forth brightly during the stunning piano-led song about Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool over more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops away, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh followed by a declaration before a comically exaggerated string crescendo thuds in with cartoonish impact. The song then segues into the frenetic track featuring galloping strings, a powerful choir, and a surprise appearance from none other than Björk.
"The charm with Lux lies in the listener never quite know—nor want to predict—what it is going to next."
Almost every track finishes in a totally different point from where it began. One moment examines the transient nature of fame with a featherlight symphony before disintegrating into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her previous rhythmic style starts out dark and sinister, with prowling vocals, before fluttering flamenco rhythms and an angelic choir arrive to soften the song's jagged edges.
The Bridge Between Experiment and Pop
A key balancing act on the album is straddling the gap of bold innovation and broad appeal. This is little coincidence that the album has achieved the artist's highest-charting work to break into the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable hits. A song sung primarily in the English language swells on a refrain that feels to gather increasingly nagging melodies while it spins skyward. That feat is echoed by a different expansive track that expands and contracts, intertwining layered melodies as a complex weave.
- A dance-infused song charms via its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture impact of other breakup songs, lambasting an ex- partner labeled an "emotional bully".
- Throughout the album, the singing have a sharp smile, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
Lux represents pop on a grand level, a hungry reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming artificial blankness. It rejects self-absorption for sublime transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its own built-in excess. It is a deep well of hidden treasure that takes time to fully explore but doesn't feels like a chore. Where some major releases of the year seemed like a meager scraps, Lux is a lavish banquet where the guests at it, some tipsy on sacred wine, flutter between conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and common stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's truly endlessly creative visionary.
