Initially, this album may look closer to a difficult university challenge rather than a new pop album from a musician who just had a previous single was a collaboration with an international pop star. Split across four separate sections and sung in thirteen languages, we have a dizzying orchestral-influenced opus that delves into female mystery, religious ascent, and physical change, frequently via the prism of different women saints. The dissolution of a romance—a topic handled with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—is launched skyward on this record, buoyed by the lush sound of a major symphony orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer within a vast list of contributors. The pure ambition alone makes the efforts of other pop stars look rather small.
Transcending Academic Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to avoid overly academic chin-stroking feels nearly a miracle, and full praise belonging to the artist. Although this is not the first time project to blend historical sounds and the present, its scale feel much greater on Lux, and the tightrope walk far more pronounced. What really elevates this fourth album, beyond its multilayered melodies, dense compositions, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential spirit of fun. Much like the iconic Björk during her height, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. When she's breaking your heart in two, you still want to be alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
This exuberant energy comes forth brightly on the stunning Italian song inspired by a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four moments. Then, all the music falls away, and there's a spontaneous laugh and a comment prior to a hilariously over-the-top orchestral crescendo thuds down like cartoonish impact. The song immediately shifts to the frenetic track featuring galloping strings, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist herself.
"The charm of Lux is that you rarely exactly understand—or even wish to predict—where you is going next."
Nearly each song finishes at a completely distinct place than how it started. One moment explores the fleeting trappings of celebrity over a featherlight orchestration only to collapsing in electronic cacophony. Another, a song echoing the artist's earlier rhythmic style begins out moody and sinister, with menacing beats, before fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly chorus enter to smooth its rough edges.
The Bridge Of Art and Accessibility
A key balancing act of Lux is navigating the line between radical experimentation and broad appeal. It is no surprise that it has become her first work to crack the Top 5 of key markets: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. One track sung primarily in English builds on a refrain that seems to collect increasingly infectious hooks while it spirals skyward. This feat is repeated on another powerful ballad that grows and contracts, intertwining multiple tunes as an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused song seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns the pop culture impact of other breakup anthems, lambasting a former partner labeled an "psychological bully".
- Throughout the album, the vocals carry a painted-on smile, like a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
Lux represents popular music on a grand level, an ambitious reach for capital-A artistry in an era of impending artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of sublime elevation, crafting a dramatic spectacle that skillfully manages its inherent excess. This is a deep well of buried gems that takes patience to fully mine but doesn't seem like hard work. While other major releases of 2025 seemed like a meager scraps, this record offers a sumptuous banquet where the guests around it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred wine, flit from conversations about historical saints, the profound sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and common stories about useless men. It is a modern-day musical from music's truly endlessly creative visionary.
