At first glance, this album could seem more like a difficult academic examination than the latest popular music album by an artist who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international pop star. Split into 4 separate sections and sung in 13 tongues, it is a dizzying orchestral-influenced opus exploring female mystery, religious transcendence, and physical change, often through the perspective of various women saints. The end of a relationship—a topic treated with raw openness elsewhere—is launched skyward on this record, carried by the lush presence of a major orchestra and input from an award-winning composer among an extensive roll call of contributors. Its sheer daring alone renders the efforts of other pop stars look rather modest.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
That this album succeeds in transcend dry academic posturing is nothing short of a miracle, with sole praise going to Rosalía. Although it's not her first album to fuse historical sounds with the present, the ambitions feel much higher on Lux, and the balancing act more precarious. What truly elevates this fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and inherent drama, is a core spirit of playfulness. Much like the iconic Björk at her height, there is a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener into its whirlwind. Even when she is tearing your heart apart, the listener still desire to stay alongside her for the ride.
A Signature Moment of Joy
That exuberant spirit shines clearly on the stunning Italian song about a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy for several moments. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal we hear a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration prior to a comically exaggerated orchestral surge crashes in with comedic impact. The track then segues to the frenetic track driven by racing strings, a powerful choir, and a surprise role from the artist Björk.
"The charm of Lux lies in the listener rarely quite understand—or even wish to know—where you will go to next."
Almost each song finishes at a totally different point than how it began. A track examines the fleeting trappings of fame over a featherlight orchestration before collapsing in electronic cacophony. Another, a song echoing the artist's previous rhythmic style starts out dark and sinister, featuring prowling beats, before sudden flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to soften the song's rough corners.
The Bridge Between Experiment & Pop
A key achievement on Lux involves navigating the line between radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. It is no coincidence that it has achieved her first work to crack the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable pop songs. One track sung entirely in the English language builds on a refrain that seems to gather increasingly infectious melodies while it spirals skyward. This feat is echoed on another expansive track that expands and contracts, weaving layered tunes like a complex weave.
- A dance-infused number seduces with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it shares with pop culture honesty of other breakup songs, lambasting a former lover labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals carry a sharp smile, akin to 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 Ears
Lux is pop on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for capital-A artistry amid of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism for glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top drama that masterfully controls its inherent excess. This is an abundant source of hidden gems that takes time to fully explore but never seem like hard work. Where other major releases of 2025 felt like feasting on scraps, this record is a sumptuous feast at which the characters around it, some intoxicated on sacred drink, flit between conversations about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about hopeless men. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from pop's most restlessly inventive practitioner.
