At first glance, this work could seem more like a challenging academic quiz than a new popular music album from an artist whose previous single featured a global pop star. Split across 4 distinct sections and performed in 13 languages, this is a dizzying classical-tinged opus investigating feminine mystique, spiritual transcendence, and corporal transformation, often through the prism of various female saints. The end of a romance—a theme handled with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—soars skyward here, carried by the constant sound of a major symphony orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning composer within a vast list of collaborators. Its sheer ambition alone makes the efforts of contemporary pop stars appear quite laughable.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
The fact that this album succeeds in avoid overly intellectual posturing feels nothing short of miraculous, with sole praise belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not her first project to fuse historical sounds and modern styles, its ambitions feel far greater here, and the tightrope walk far more pronounced. What really raises her fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, dense compositions, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of joy. Similar to the iconic Björk during her peak, there is a captivating sense to the vocalist's singing which sweeps you up in its tornado. When she is tearing hearts apart, you nevertheless desire to be right there through the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
That exuberant spirit shines clearly during a stirring Italian ballad about Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy for more than four moments. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh and a declaration before a hilariously over-the-top string surge thuds down like cartoonish force. The song immediately shifts into the frenetic single featuring galloping strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The magic of Lux is that you rarely quite know—nor want to predict—where you is going next."
Nearly every song concludes at a completely different point than how it started. A track explores the fleeting nature of fame over a delicate orchestration before disintegrating into digital cacophony. Another, a song that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused style begins off moody and brooding, with prowling beats, until fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften its jagged edges.
The Balance Of Experiment & Pop
Another crucial achievement of the album is navigating the line between radical experimentation and broad accessibility. This is no surprise that it has achieved the artist's first release to crack the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable pop songs. A song performed entirely in English swells around a refrain that seems to collect increasingly nagging melodies as it spirals upward. This trick is repeated on a different powerful ballad that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies as an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares with cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating an ex- partner described as an "psychological bully".
- Throughout the album, the singing carry a painted-on edge, like a storybook character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You have the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
This album is popular music on a grand scale, a hungry reach for high artistry amid of impending artificial sameness. It eschews solipsism for sublime transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that skillfully manages its inherent excess. This is an abundant well of buried treasure that requires patience to completely mine but never seem like hard work. While other big releases of the year seemed like feasting on meal, Lux is a lavish banquet at which the guests around the table, perhaps tipsy on holy drink, flit between conversations about historical figures, the profound feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from pop's most restlessly creative visionary.
