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On the surface, this work might appear more like an arduous university challenge than a new popular music album from a musician who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international pop star. Split into four distinct movements and performed in thirteen tongues, it is a head-spinning classical-tinged opus investigating female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and physical transformation, frequently via the perspective of different female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—soars upwards here, buoyed by the lush presence of a major orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter within an extensive list of contributors. Its sheer audacity alone renders the work of other pop stars seem quite modest.

Rising Above Scholarly Pretense

That this album manages to avoid dry intellectual posturing feels nearly a miracle, and full praise going to the artist. Although this is not her first project to fuse the past and modern styles, its stakes feel much greater on Lux, and the tightrope walk more precarious. What truly raises her fourth album, beyond its complex tunes, dense arrangements, and engrained drama, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Much like the iconic Björk during her peak, there is a wondrous sense to the vocalist's singing that pulls the listener into its tornado. Even when she is tearing hearts apart, the listener nevertheless desire to be alongside her for the ride.

A Prime Example of Joy

This exuberant energy shines clearly during the stunning piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four minutes. Suddenly, everything falls away, to reveal there's a gleeful laugh followed by a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated orchestral surge crashes in like cartoonish force. The song immediately shifts to the wild track driven by racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a surprise role from none other than Björk.

"The magic of this album is that the listener never quite understand—or even wish to know—where it will go to next."

Nearly every track ends at a completely distinct place from where it started. A track examines the fleeting nature of celebrity with a featherlight orchestration before collapsing in electronic cacophony. Another, a song that recalls her earlier rhythmic style begins out moody and brooding, with menacing beats, before fluttering traditional rhythms and an angelic chorus enter to soften its jagged corners.

The Balance Between Experiment & Accessibility

A key balancing act of the album is navigating the line of radical experimentation and mainstream accessibility. This is no surprise that the album has achieved the artist's highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of major markets: at its core a suite of truly catchy hits. A song sung entirely in English swells on a chorus that feels to gather increasingly nagging hooks while it spirals skyward. This feat gets repeated on another powerful track that grows and contracts, weaving multiple tunes like an intricate weave.

• A waltz-like song seduces via its playful, theatrical flair and an anthemic hook.
• In its words, it shares with cultural impact of other breakup anthems, eviscerating an ex- partner labeled an "emotional terrorist".
• Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on smile, akin to a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of letdown."

An Opulent Banquet for the Ears

This album is popular music on a grand level, a hungry reach for high Art amid of looming artificial blankness. It rejects solipsism in favor of sublime elevation, creating a dramatic drama that masterfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of buried treasure that requires time to fully mine but doesn't feels like hard work. Where other big releases of the year seemed like a meager meal, this record offers a lavish feast where the characters around it, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flutter between discussions about ancient figures, the profound feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and shared stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from music's truly restlessly creative practitioner.