At first glance, this work might appear more like a difficult academic challenge than a new popular music album by an artist whose last single was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Divided across four separate parts and performed in 13 languages, this is a breathtaking classical-tinged work exploring feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and corporal transformation, frequently via the prism of various women saints. The dissolution of a romance—a theme treated with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—soars upwards here, carried by the lush sound of a major symphony orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a long list of collaborators. The pure audacity alone renders the efforts of other pop stars seem rather modest.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
The fact that Lux succeeds in avoid dry academic posturing is nothing short of a miracle, and sole credit going to the artist. Although this is not the first time project to alchemize the past and modern styles, its scale feel far higher on Lux, and the tightrope walk far more precarious. What truly raises this fourth album, beyond its complex melodies, dense arrangements, and inherent theatricality, is an essential spirit of fun. Similar to the legendary artist during her height, you find a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps you up in its whirlwind. Even when she is breaking your heart apart, you still want to be alongside her for the ride.
A Signature Example of Joy
That playful energy shines brightly during a stirring piano-led ballad inspired by a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool for more than four minutes. Then, everything falls silent, and we hear a gleeful laugh followed by a comment before a hilariously over-the-top string crescendo crashes in like cartoonish force. The song immediately segues into the wild single featuring racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from none other than Björk.
"The magic with Lux is that the listener rarely quite understand—or even wish to predict—what it is going next."
Almost every track concludes in a completely different place from how it started. A track examines the transient trappings of celebrity over a delicate orchestration before collapsing into digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her previous rhythmic style starts off dark and sinister, with prowling vocals, before sudden flamenco rhythms and an angelic chorus arrive to soften the song's jagged edges.
The Bridge Of Art & Pop
A key balancing act of Lux is navigating the line of radical innovation and broad appeal. This is little surprise that it has become the artist's first release to crack the Top 5 of major charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy pop songs. A song performed entirely in the English language swells around a chorus that feels to collect increasingly nagging hooks while it spins upward. That feat gets repeated on another powerful track that expands and constricts, weaving layered tunes like an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused song seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns with cultural impact of other heartbreak anthems, eviscerating an ex- partner labeled an "psychological bully".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a sharp smile, akin to a fairy-tale figure concealing a knife: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of sublime transcendence, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its inherent excess. This is a deep source of hidden gems that takes patience to fully explore but doesn't seem like hard work. While other big releases of the year felt like feasting on scraps, Lux is a sumptuous feast at which the characters at it, some intoxicated on sacred wine, flit from discussions about historical figures, the profound sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and shared stories about hopeless men. It is a modern-day theatrical production from music's most restlessly creative visionary.
