At first glance, this album could seem closer to an arduous university challenge than a new pop project by a musician who just had a previous hit featured an international pop star. Broken across 4 separate parts and voiced in thirteen languages, this is a dizzying classical-tinged album exploring feminine mystery, spiritual transcendence, and bodily transformation, often by way of the lens of various female saints. The end of a relationship—a topic handled with raw openness elsewhere—is shot heavenward here, buoyed by the lush sound of a full orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning composer among a vast roll call of contributors. The pure daring alone makes the work of contemporary artists look quite modest.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
That this album succeeds in transcend dry academic chin-stroking feels almost a miracle, with sole praise belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time project to alchemize historical sounds with modern styles, its ambitions feel far greater on Lux, and the tightrope walk far more precarious. The element that truly elevates this fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and engrained drama, is an essential spirit of joy. Similar to the legendary Björk during her peak, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. Even when she's breaking hearts in two, the listener still desire to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Exuberance
That exuberant energy shines clearly on a stirring Italian ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool for several moments. Suddenly, everything falls away, and there's a spontaneous laugh and a declaration before a comically over-the-top orchestral surge thuds down with cartoonish impact. The song immediately segues into the wild single featuring galloping strings, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from none other than Björk.
"The charm of this album lies in you never quite understand—or even wish to predict—where it is going next."
Almost each track concludes at a completely different place from how it started. One moment explores the transient trappings of celebrity over a delicate symphony only to disintegrating in digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's earlier rhythmic work starts off dark and brooding, with menacing beats, until fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly chorus enter to smooth its rough edges.
The Bridge Of Experiment and Pop
Another crucial achievement of Lux is navigating the gap of bold innovation and broad appeal. It is no surprise that the album has become her highest-charting release to break into the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable hits. A song sung primarily in English builds around a refrain that seems to collect increasingly nagging melodies as it spins upward. This feat is repeated by a different expansive ballad that expands and contracts, intertwining layered tunes like an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused number charms via its playful, theatrical flair and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture impact of other breakup anthems, lambasting a former partner labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the singing have a painted-on smile, akin to a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
Lux is popular music on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for high Art in an era of impending artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top drama that skillfully manages its own inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of buried gems that requires patience to fully explore but doesn't feels like a chore. Where other major pop albums of 2025 seemed like a meager scraps, this record offers a lavish banquet where the characters around it, some intoxicated on sacred wine, flit between discussions about ancient saints, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking grief, and common stories about useless men. It is a modern-day theatrical production from music's truly restlessly creative practitioner.
