On the surface, this album could seem closer to a challenging academic quiz than the latest pop project by an artist who just had a previous single was a collaboration with an international K-pop icon. Divided into four distinct parts and voiced in thirteen languages, it is a dizzying classical-tinged album exploring feminine mystique, religious ascent, and physical change, frequently by way of the lens of various female saints. The end of a relationship—a topic treated with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—is launched heavenward on this record, supported by the constant presence of a major symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning composer within a vast list of collaborators. The pure ambition alone makes the work of contemporary pop stars seem rather small.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
That this album manages to transcend dry intellectual posturing feels nothing short of miraculous, with sole praise belonging to the artist. While this is not the first time project to alchemize the past and modern styles, the stakes feel much higher here, with the balancing act far more pronounced. What really raises her fourth release, outside of its complex tunes, dense compositions, and inherent drama, is an essential sense of fun. Similar to the legendary artist during her height, there is a captivating sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls you up in its tornado. When she is breaking your heart apart, you nevertheless desire to stay alongside her for the ride.
A Signature Example of Exuberance
This exuberant energy shines brightly on a stirring Italian song inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool for several minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops away, and there's a gleeful giggle followed by a comment prior to a comically over-the-top string crescendo crashes down with cartoonish impact. The song immediately shifts into the wild single featuring racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo appearance from none other than Björk.
"The magic with this album is that you never quite understand—nor want to know—what it will go to next."
Nearly each track concludes at a completely distinct place than where it started. One moment explores the transient trappings of celebrity with a featherlight orchestration before collapsing into electronic chaos. Another, a song that recalls her earlier trap-infused work starts off dark and sinister, featuring menacing beats, until fluttering flamenco handclaps and a heavenly chorus enter to soften the song's jagged edges.
The Balance Of Art & Pop
Another crucial achievement of the album is navigating the gap of radical experimentation and broad accessibility. It is no coincidence that it has achieved the artist's first work to break into the upper reaches of key markets: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. One track performed entirely in English swells on a chorus that feels to gather increasingly infectious hooks while it spins upward. This trick gets echoed by another expansive ballad that expands and constricts, weaving multiple melodies as a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused number charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture impact of other breakup anthems, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across the album, the singing carry a sharp edge, akin to a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Soul
Lux represents popular music on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for high Art amid of impending AI-generated blankness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its own inherent ridiculousness. It is a deep source of buried gems that requires time to fully mine but doesn't feels like hard work. Where some major pop albums of 2025 felt like a meager scraps, Lux is a lavish feast at which the guests around it, some tipsy on holy drink, flit from conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and common stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly endlessly inventive visionary.
