At first glance, this work might appear closer to a challenging academic challenge rather than a new popular music project from an artist who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop star. Divided into four separate sections and performed in 13 tongues, we have a dizzying classical-tinged work investigating female mystique, religious ascent, and bodily change, frequently via the prism of various female saints. The end of a love affair—a theme treated with raw openness on another major 2025 album—soars upwards here, supported by the constant presence of a major orchestra and input from an award-winning composer among an extensive list of collaborators. The pure daring alone makes the work of contemporary artists seem quite modest.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to escape overly academic chin-stroking feels almost miraculous, with complete praise belonging to the artist. While it's not the first time album to fuse historical sounds with the present, the scale feel far higher here, and the balancing act more pronounced. The element that truly raises this fourth release, outside of its multilayered melodies, rich compositions, and engrained theatricality, is an essential sense of joy. Much like the iconic Björk at her peak, there is a captivating sense to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener into its tornado. Even when she is breaking your heart in two, you nevertheless want to be alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Joy
That exuberant spirit shines brightly on the stirring Italian ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy for several moments. Suddenly, everything falls silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous giggle and a comment prior to a hilariously exaggerated orchestral surge thuds down with cartoonish impact. The track immediately shifts into the wild track featuring racing strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than Björk.
"The charm of this album is that you rarely quite know—or even wish to predict—where it is going to next."
Almost every track concludes in a totally distinct point than how it started. A track explores the transient nature of celebrity over a delicate orchestration only to disintegrating in electronic chaos. Another, a cut echoing her earlier trap-infused style begins off dark and sinister, featuring menacing vocals, until sudden traditional rhythms and an angelic choir enter to soften the song's rough edges.
The Balance Of Experiment & Accessibility
A key achievement on Lux is straddling the gap of radical innovation and broad accessibility. It is no surprise that it has achieved her first work to break into the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable pop songs. A song sung primarily in the English language swells around a refrain that feels to gather increasingly infectious melodies as it spins upward. That trick gets echoed by another powerful track that expands and constricts, intertwining multiple melodies like a complex weave.
- A dance-infused song seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it shares the pop culture impact of other breakup songs, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a sharp edge, like a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Soul
This album represents popular music on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry amid of impending AI-generated blankness. It eschews solipsism for glorious transcendence, crafting an over-the-top drama that skillfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep source of hidden treasure that requires patience to fully mine but never feels like a chore. While other major pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, this record is a sumptuous feast at which the characters at it, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flutter between discussions about ancient saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and common stories about hopeless partners. It is a modern-day theatrical production from music's truly restlessly creative visionary.
