On the surface, Lux might appear more like a difficult academic examination rather than a new pop project from a musician whose last hit featured a global pop star. Divided across four separate sections and sung in 13 languages, this is a breathtaking classical-tinged album that delves into feminine mystique, religious ascent, and corporal transformation, often through the lens of different women saints. The end of a love affair—a theme treated with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—soars upwards here, carried by the lush sound of a major orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer within a vast roll call of contributors. The pure daring by itself makes the work of other artists appear quite laughable.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
That Lux manages to transcend dry academic posturing feels nearly miraculous, and full praise going to the artist. While this is not the first time project to blend historical sounds and the present, its ambitions feel far higher here, and the balancing act more precarious. The element that truly raises this fourth release, outside of its complex tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, is a core sense of joy. Much like the iconic Björk at her height, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls the listener up in its whirlwind. When she's tearing hearts in two, the listener still want to stay right there for the journey.
A Signature Moment of Joy
That exuberant spirit shines brightly on the stirring Italian song about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy over several moments. Then, all the music drops silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous giggle and a declaration before a comically over-the-top orchestral surge crashes down like cartoonish impact. The track then shifts into the wild track featuring racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a surprise appearance from the artist herself.
"The magic with this album is that the listener rarely quite understand—or even want to know—where you is going next."
Nearly every song ends in a totally distinct point from how it began. A track explores the fleeting nature of celebrity over a delicate orchestration only to disintegrating in electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her previous rhythmic work starts out dark and brooding, featuring menacing vocals, before fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly choir enter to soften the song's rough corners.
The Balance Of Art and Pop
Another crucial achievement on the album involves straddling the line between bold experimentation and mainstream accessibility. This is no coincidence that it has become her first work to crack the upper reaches of major charts: at its core a suite of utterly undeniable hits. A song sung entirely in the English language builds on a refrain that feels to collect more and more infectious hooks while it spirals upward. This trick is echoed on a different expansive track that grows and contracts, intertwining layered melodies like a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it aligns with cultural impact of other breakup songs, lambasting a former lover labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Across the album, the vocals carry a sharp edge, akin to a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
Lux is popular music on a maximalist scale, an ambitious grasp for capital-A Art in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism for glorious transcendence, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully controls its built-in excess. This is a deep source of buried treasure that takes time to fully explore but doesn't feels like a chore. Where some major pop albums of the year seemed like a meager meal, Lux is a lavish feast where the guests at the table, perhaps intoxicated on sacred drink, flit between conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking grief, and common gossip about hopeless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly restlessly inventive practitioner.
