At first glance, this work may look closer to an arduous scholarly challenge rather than a new pop record from an artist who just had a last single was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Split into four distinct movements and voiced in 13 languages, we have a dizzying classical-tinged work investigating female mystique, religious transcendence, and corporal change, frequently by way of the prism of various female saints. The end of a romance—a theme handled with raw openness on another major 2025 album—is shot skyward here, buoyed by the lush sound of a full orchestra and input from an award-winning composer within an extensive roll call of contributors. Its sheer audacity alone renders the efforts of other pop stars appear rather laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
The fact that this album manages to transcend overly academic chin-stroking feels nothing short of a miracle, with complete praise belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not her first project to alchemize historical sounds with the present, the stakes feel much greater on Lux, with the balancing act more precarious. What truly elevates this fourth album, beyond its complex tunes, rich compositions, and inherent drama, proves to be a core sense of playfulness. Much like the legendary artist during her peak, there is a captivating quality to the vocalist's voice that pulls you up in its whirlwind. Even when she is tearing your heart apart, you nevertheless desire to be right there through the journey.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
This exuberant energy comes forth clearly during a stunning piano-led song inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy for more than four minutes. Suddenly, everything falls silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous giggle and a comment before a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo thuds in with cartoonish impact. The song then segues into the frenetic single driven by galloping strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The charm with Lux is that the listener never exactly know—nor want to know—what it is going next."
Almost each track concludes at a totally distinct place than how it started. A track explores the transient trappings of fame over a delicate symphony before disintegrating in electronic chaos. Another, a song echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused style begins off dark and sinister, with prowling beats, until sudden flamenco rhythms and an angelic chorus arrive to soften the song's jagged edges.
The Bridge Of Experiment and Pop
A key achievement on Lux involves navigating the line of radical innovation and mainstream appeal. This is no surprise that it has achieved the artist's first work to break into the upper reaches of major markets: at its core a collection of utterly catchy hits. A song performed primarily in the English language builds around a chorus that feels to gather more and more infectious melodies as it spirals upward. This feat gets echoed on a different expansive track that grows and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies as a complex weave.
- A waltz-like song charms via its playful, theatrical drama and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares the pop culture impact of contemporary breakup songs, eviscerating a former lover labeled an "emotional bully".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a sharp edge, akin to a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
Lux represents pop on a maximalist scale, an ambitious reach for high artistry in an era of looming artificial blankness. It rejects solipsism in favor of glorious elevation, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully controls its inherent excess. It is a deep well of buried gems that takes time to completely mine but doesn't seem like hard work. While other big pop albums of the year felt like a meager meal, Lux is a lavish feast at which the guests around the table, some tipsy on sacred wine, flutter between conversations about historical saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about hopeless men. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from pop's most endlessly creative practitioner.
