On the surface, this album may look closer to a difficult university examination than the latest popular music project from an artist who just had a previous single was a collaboration with an international K-pop star. Broken into 4 distinct movements and sung in 13 tongues, this is a dizzying orchestral-influenced album that delves into feminine mystery, spiritual transcendence, and bodily transformation, often via the perspective of different women saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme treated with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—is shot upwards here, supported by the constant sound of a full symphony orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning composer within a long list of collaborators. The pure ambition by itself makes the efforts of contemporary pop stars seem rather laughable.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to escape dry intellectual posturing feels almost a miracle, with sole praise belonging to the artist. Although this is not her first project to alchemize historical sounds and the present, its stakes are much higher on Lux, with the balancing act more pronounced. What really elevates her fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, dense arrangements, and inherent drama, is a core spirit of playfulness. Similar to the legendary Björk during her height, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. Even when she's tearing your heart in two, the listener nevertheless desire to be alongside her for the journey.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
This exuberant energy shines clearly during a stunning piano-led ballad about a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over several minutes. Suddenly, everything drops silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous giggle and a declaration before a comically over-the-top string surge crashes down like comedic impact. The song then shifts to the wild single featuring galloping orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise role from the artist Björk.
"The charm with Lux is that you rarely quite understand—nor wish to predict—what it will go next."
Nearly every track finishes at a totally distinct place than how it began. A track examines the transient trappings of celebrity with a featherlight orchestration before collapsing in electronic cacophony. Another, a song echoing her earlier trap-infused style starts off moody and brooding, featuring prowling vocals, until sudden flamenco rhythms and a heavenly chorus arrive to smooth its rough corners.
The Bridge Of Experiment and Accessibility
A key balancing act of the album involves straddling the line between bold experimentation and mainstream accessibility. It is no coincidence that it has achieved the artist's first work to crack the upper reaches of key markets: at its core a suite of utterly catchy pop songs. One track performed entirely in the English language swells around a chorus that feels to gather more and more nagging melodies while it spirals skyward. That trick gets repeated on a different expansive track that grows and constricts, intertwining multiple tunes like an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused song charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns the cultural honesty of other heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former partner described as an "psychological bully".
- Across these tracks, the singing carry a painted-on edge, like a fairy-tale figure concealing a blade: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album is popular music on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of looming AI-generated blankness. It rejects solipsism in favor of glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully manages its own inherent excess. This is a deep well of hidden gems that requires time to fully explore but doesn't feels like a chore. While some big pop albums of 2025 seemed like feasting on scraps, this record offers a sumptuous feast where the characters around it, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flutter from discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common stories about useless men. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from music's truly restlessly creative visionary.
