At first glance, this album might appear closer to a difficult scholarly examination rather than a new pop project from a musician who just had a last hit was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Divided across 4 separate sections and performed in 13 languages, we have a head-spinning classical-tinged work investigating feminine mystique, religious transcendence, and physical change, often through the perspective of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme handled with raw openness on another major 2025 album—soars upwards on this record, buoyed by the lush presence of a major orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer within a vast roll call of collaborators. Its sheer ambition alone makes the work of other pop stars look quite modest.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
That Lux manages to escape overly intellectual posturing feels nearly miraculous, with full praise belonging to the artist. While it's not the first time album to fuse the past with the present, its stakes are far greater here, with the tightrope walk more precarious. The element that truly raises this fourth album, beyond its complex tunes, rich compositions, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of joy. Similar to the legendary artist during her peak, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls you up in its tornado. Even when she's tearing hearts in two, you still want to be alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Example of Joy
This playful spirit comes forth brightly on the stunning piano-led song inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops away, and there's a spontaneous giggle and a comment before a hilariously exaggerated orchestral surge crashes in like cartoonish impact. The track then segues into the frenetic single driven by racing orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from the artist Björk.
"The charm of Lux is that you never exactly know—or even wish to predict—where it will go to next."
Almost each track ends in a totally distinct place than where it began. A track examines the fleeting nature of fame over a delicate symphony only to disintegrating into digital chaos. Another, a song that recalls her previous trap-infused style starts off moody and sinister, with menacing beats, before sudden flamenco rhythms and an angelic chorus arrive to smooth the song's jagged corners.
The Bridge Of Experiment & Pop
A key achievement on the album is straddling the line of radical experimentation and mainstream accessibility. This is little surprise that the album has become the artist's first work to break into the Top 5 of key charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy hits. A song sung entirely in English swells on a chorus that seems to gather more and more infectious hooks as it spins skyward. This trick gets echoed by another expansive track that expands and constricts, weaving layered melodies like an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused song charms with its playful, theatrical flair and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it aligns with pop culture impact of other breakup songs, lambasting an ex- lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on edge, like a fairy-tale figure concealing a knife: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
This album is pop on a maximalist scale, an ambitious grasp for high artistry amid of impending artificial sameness. It rejects self-absorption for glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic spectacle that masterfully controls its built-in excess. It is an abundant source of buried gems that takes time to fully explore but doesn't feels like a chore. While some major pop albums of the year felt like feasting on meal, Lux offers a sumptuous feast where the characters around the table, some tipsy on sacred drink, flutter from discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and shared gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from music's most endlessly inventive visionary.
