At first glance, this album may look more like an arduous academic examination rather than the latest popular music project by an artist whose previous single was a collaboration with a global pop star. Split across 4 distinct sections and sung in 13 tongues, it is a dizzying classical-tinged album exploring female mystery, religious ascent, and corporal transformation, often via the perspective of various female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a topic handled with grounded honesty on another major 2025 album—is shot heavenward here, buoyed by the constant presence of a full orchestra and work from an award-winning composer among a long roll call of collaborators. The pure daring alone makes the work of other pop stars seem quite modest.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to avoid overly academic posturing feels nothing short of a miracle, with sole credit going to the artist. While it's not her first album to fuse the past and the present, the stakes are far higher on Lux, and the tightrope walk more pronounced. The element that truly raises this fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, dense arrangements, and inherent theatricality, is a core spirit of fun. Similar to the legendary Björk during her height, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls you into its tornado. When she is tearing hearts in two, you still want to stay alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Joy
That exuberant energy comes forth clearly during a stirring Italian song inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy over several minutes. Suddenly, everything drops away, and we hear a gleeful laugh and a declaration prior to a hilariously over-the-top orchestral surge crashes down with cartoonish force. The track then shifts into the wild track featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than herself.
"The magic with Lux lies in the listener rarely exactly understand—or even want to predict—what you will go to next."
Nearly each song concludes at a completely distinct place from where it began. One moment examines the fleeting trappings of celebrity over a delicate orchestration before collapsing in electronic cacophony. Another, a cut echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused work begins off moody and sinister, featuring prowling beats, before sudden flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir arrive to smooth its rough corners.
The Balance Between Experiment and Pop
A key achievement of Lux is navigating the line of radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. It is little surprise that it has achieved her highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of key markets: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable hits. One track performed entirely in the English language builds on a chorus that seems to collect more and more infectious hooks while it spins skyward. That feat gets echoed on a different expansive ballad that grows and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares the pop culture honesty of other breakup anthems, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing have a sharp edge, akin to a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Soul
Lux is pop on a maximalist scale, an ambitious reach for high artistry amid of impending AI-generated blankness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep well of buried gems that requires time to completely explore but doesn't seem like hard work. While other big pop albums of the year felt like feasting on meal, this record offers a sumptuous feast where the characters at it, some tipsy on holy drink, flit from conversations about historical saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared gossip about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from music's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
