At first glance, this work might appear closer to a challenging scholarly quiz rather than the latest popular music project by a musician who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop star. Divided into 4 separate parts and voiced in 13 tongues, it is a breathtaking symphonic work exploring feminine mystique, spiritual ascent, and corporal change, often via the perspective of different women saints. The end of a romance—a theme handled with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot skyward on this record, buoyed by the constant presence of a full orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer among a long roll call of contributors. The pure daring alone makes the work of other pop stars seem rather modest.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
That Lux manages to transcend dry intellectual chin-stroking is almost a miracle, with complete praise going to Rosalía. While this is not the first time album to alchemize historical sounds and the present, the ambitions feel far higher on Lux, with the tightrope walk more dramatic. The element that really elevates her fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and engrained theatricality, is an essential sense of playfulness. Similar to the iconic Björk during her height, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls you up in its whirlwind. When she's breaking hearts apart, you still want to be alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Joy
This playful energy comes forth brightly during the stirring Italian song inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls silent, to reveal there's a spontaneous giggle and a comment prior to a hilariously over-the-top string surge crashes down with comedic impact. The track then shifts to the frenetic track featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist Björk.
"The magic with this album is that the listener rarely quite understand—or even want to predict—where you will go to next."
Almost each song ends in a totally distinct point than how it began. A track explores the fleeting trappings of celebrity over a featherlight symphony before collapsing in electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls her earlier trap-infused work starts off moody and sinister, with prowling vocals, before sudden flamenco rhythms and an angelic choir arrive to smooth the song's rough corners.
The Bridge Of Experiment & Pop
A key achievement on Lux involves straddling the gap between radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. This is no surprise that the album has become her first work to break into the upper reaches of key markets: at its core a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. A song sung entirely in English builds on a chorus that seems to collect more and more nagging melodies as it spins skyward. That feat gets echoed on another powerful ballad that grows and constricts, weaving multiple tunes like an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like number charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns with pop culture impact of contemporary heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former partner labeled an "psychological bully".
- Across the album, the vocals have a painted-on smile, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
Lux is popular music on a grand scale, a hungry reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming artificial blankness. It rejects solipsism for sublime elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully manages its built-in excess. It is an abundant source of buried gems that takes patience to completely explore but never seem like hard work. Where other major pop albums of 2025 felt like a meager meal, Lux is a lavish banquet where the guests around the table, perhaps intoxicated on sacred drink, flit from conversations about ancient saints, the profound feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and common gossip about hopeless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from pop's truly restlessly inventive practitioner.
