On the surface, this work might appear closer to a difficult academic challenge than a new popular music record from a musician whose last single featured a global K-pop star. Broken across four different sections and voiced in thirteen tongues, it is a breathtaking orchestral-influenced work exploring feminine mystique, spiritual ascent, and corporal change, often via the lens of various female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with raw openness on another major 2025 album—is shot skyward here, carried by the constant presence of a major symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter among a long roll call of contributors. Its sheer daring by itself makes the efforts of contemporary pop stars look quite laughable.
Transcending Academic Pretense
The fact that Lux manages to escape overly academic posturing is nothing short of a miracle, and complete credit belonging to the artist. Although this is not her first project to blend the past and modern styles, the stakes are far higher on Lux, with the tightrope walk more dramatic. The element that really elevates her fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and engrained drama, proves to be an essential spirit of playfulness. Much like the iconic Björk at her height, you find a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. When she is breaking your heart in two, the listener still desire to stay alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That exuberant energy shines brightly on a stunning piano-led song inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy over more than four moments. Then, all the music falls silent, to reveal there's a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration before a comically over-the-top orchestral surge crashes down like comedic impact. The song immediately segues to the wild track driven by racing orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The charm with this album lies in you rarely quite understand—nor wish to predict—what you will go next."
Almost every track finishes in a totally distinct place from how it began. A track examines the fleeting nature of fame with a delicate orchestration before disintegrating in electronic cacophony. Another, a song that recalls her earlier trap-infused style starts out moody and sinister, with menacing beats, before fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly chorus enter to soften its rough edges.
The Balance Of Experiment & Accessibility
A key achievement of Lux involves straddling the line between bold innovation and broad accessibility. It is no coincidence that it has become the artist's highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of key charts: at its core a suite of utterly undeniable hits. One track sung entirely in English swells around a refrain that feels to collect more and more nagging hooks as it spirals upward. This feat gets repeated by a different expansive track that grows and constricts, intertwining layered melodies as an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms via its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it shares with pop culture impact of contemporary breakup anthems, eviscerating a former lover labeled an "emotional bully".
- Throughout the album, the vocals have a sharp smile, akin to a storybook character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
This album is popular music on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for high artistry amid of impending artificial blankness. It rejects solipsism for glorious transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully controls its own inherent excess. It is a deep source of hidden gems that requires time to fully mine but doesn't seem like a chore. Where other major pop albums of 2025 seemed like feasting on meal, Lux is a lavish banquet at which the characters around the table, perhaps intoxicated on sacred wine, flit between conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and common stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from music's truly endlessly creative practitioner.
