Initially, this work could seem closer to a challenging university examination than a new popular music record by an artist whose last hit featured an international pop icon. Split into four different parts and voiced in 13 languages, this is a head-spinning classical-tinged work investigating female mystique, spiritual ascent, and physical change, frequently via the lens of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—is shot heavenward here, buoyed by the lush presence of a major orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a long list of contributors. Its sheer ambition by itself makes the efforts of other artists appear quite small.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
That this album manages to transcend overly intellectual posturing is nearly miraculous, with complete praise belonging to Rosalía. While this is not the first time album to alchemize historical sounds and the present, its scale are much higher here, and the tightrope walk more precarious. What really elevates this fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, rich compositions, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Much like the legendary Björk at her peak, there is a wondrous sense to the vocalist's singing that pulls you into its whirlwind. When she is breaking hearts in two, you nevertheless desire to be alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
That exuberant energy comes forth brightly during the stunning Italian song inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy over several minutes. Then, everything falls away, and there's a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration before a comically exaggerated orchestral surge thuds in like cartoonish force. The song immediately segues into the wild track featuring racing strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than Björk.
"The magic with Lux lies in the listener rarely exactly understand—or even want to predict—where it is going next."
Almost every track finishes at a completely different point from where it began. A track explores the transient nature of fame over a delicate orchestration before disintegrating into digital chaos. Another, a song that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused work starts out dark and brooding, featuring menacing vocals, before fluttering flamenco rhythms and an angelic choir arrive to smooth its rough corners.
The Bridge Of Art and Accessibility
Another crucial achievement on Lux is navigating the line of bold experimentation and mainstream appeal. This is little coincidence that it has become the artist's first release to break into the Top 5 of key charts: at its core a collection of truly catchy pop songs. One track sung primarily in the English language swells around a chorus that seems to collect increasingly infectious melodies as it spins upward. That trick gets echoed on another powerful track that grows and contracts, intertwining multiple tunes like a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the pop culture impact of other breakup songs, eviscerating a former lover labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the singing have a sharp smile, like a fairy-tale character concealing a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
This album is popular music on a grand level, a hungry grasp for high artistry in an era of looming artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its built-in excess. This is an abundant source of hidden treasure that requires patience to completely explore but never seem like a chore. Where other big releases of the year seemed like a meager scraps, Lux is a lavish banquet at which the guests around it, some intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter between conversations about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about useless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from pop's truly restlessly inventive practitioner.
