At first glance, this album could seem closer to a challenging university examination than a new pop project by an artist who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Split across 4 different movements and performed in 13 languages, it is a head-spinning orchestral-influenced opus exploring female mystique, spiritual ascent, and physical change, often by way of the lens of different female saints. The dissolution of a romance—a theme treated with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—soars heavenward on this record, buoyed by the constant presence of a major orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within an extensive roll call of contributors. Its sheer ambition alone renders the work of contemporary pop stars appear rather laughable.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That Lux succeeds in escape dry intellectual chin-stroking is nearly miraculous, and sole credit belonging to Rosalía. Although this is not her first album to alchemize historical sounds and the present, the scale feel much higher on Lux, and the tightrope walk more precarious. The element that really raises this fourth album, beyond its complex melodies, rich compositions, and inherent theatricality, proves to be a core spirit of joy. Similar to the iconic Björk during her peak, you find a wondrous quality to the vocalist's singing that pulls the listener up in its tornado. When she's tearing hearts apart, you nevertheless desire to be alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Joy
That exuberant spirit comes forth brightly on the stirring Italian song inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy over several minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls away, and there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a comment before a hilariously over-the-top string crescendo thuds down with cartoonish impact. The track then segues to the frenetic single featuring racing strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from the artist herself.
"The charm with Lux lies in you never exactly understand—nor wish to predict—what it will go next."
Almost each track finishes in a completely distinct place from how it began. One moment explores the fleeting nature of fame with a featherlight orchestration only to collapsing in digital cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's earlier trap-infused work starts out moody and sinister, with menacing vocals, until sudden traditional rhythms and an angelic choir arrive to soften its rough corners.
The Balance Of Art and Accessibility
A key achievement on Lux involves straddling the line of radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. It is no surprise that it has become the artist's first release to crack the upper reaches of key charts: at its core a suite of truly catchy pop songs. A song sung primarily in English builds around a refrain that seems to collect increasingly infectious hooks while it spins upward. This feat is echoed on a different expansive ballad that grows and contracts, weaving layered tunes as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song seduces via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it shares with cultural impact of contemporary breakup anthems, eviscerating an ex- partner labeled an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing have a painted-on edge, like a storybook figure concealing a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
Lux represents popular music on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art amid of impending AI-generated sameness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep well of hidden treasure that requires time to fully explore but doesn't feels like a chore. While other big pop albums of the year felt like feasting on scraps, Lux is a lavish banquet at which the characters around the table, some intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter between discussions about ancient saints, the profound sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and common stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from pop's truly endlessly creative visionary.
