On the surface, this work may look more like a difficult scholarly quiz than the latest pop project by an artist who just had a last hit featured a global pop star. Divided across 4 separate movements and sung in thirteen tongues, we have a head-spinning classical-tinged album that delves into female mystery, religious ascent, and corporal transformation, frequently by way of the prism of different women saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme handled with raw openness on another major 2025 album—is shot upwards here, supported by the lush presence of a major orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a long list of contributors. The pure audacity alone renders the efforts of other artists appear rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That Lux manages to avoid overly academic chin-stroking is nearly a miracle, with sole credit belonging to the artist. While this is not the first time project to blend historical sounds with the present, its ambitions are much greater here, and the balancing act far more pronounced. The element that truly raises this fourth album, beyond its multilayered tunes, dense compositions, and engrained drama, is a core sense of fun. Similar to the iconic Björk at her height, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls the listener up in its whirlwind. When she's tearing hearts in two, the listener still want to stay alongside her for the ride.
A Signature Example of Joy
This playful spirit comes forth brightly on the stirring Italian ballad about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for more than four moments. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal there's a gleeful laugh followed by a comment before a hilariously exaggerated string surge thuds down like comedic impact. The song immediately segues into the wild single featuring galloping orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist herself.
"The magic of this album is that the listener never exactly understand—nor wish to know—what you is going next."
Nearly every track ends at a completely different place than where it started. A track examines the transient trappings of celebrity with a delicate orchestration only to disintegrating into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls her previous rhythmic style begins out dark and brooding, featuring menacing vocals, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Balance Of Art & Accessibility
Another crucial achievement on the album is straddling the line between radical experimentation and broad accessibility. It is little coincidence that the album has become her highest-charting release to break into the upper reaches of key charts: at its core a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. A song sung entirely in English builds around a chorus that feels to gather more and more infectious melodies as it spirals skyward. This trick gets echoed on another powerful track that grows and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies like an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused number charms via its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it shares with pop culture honesty of other heartbreak anthems, lambasting an ex- partner labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the singing carry a painted-on smile, akin to a storybook character concealing a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You've the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album is popular music on a maximalist level, a hungry reach for capital-A Art amid of looming artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully manages its inherent ridiculousness. It is a deep source of hidden treasure that takes time to fully explore but doesn't seem like a chore. Where other big pop albums of 2025 felt like a meager meal, Lux is a lavish banquet where the characters at it, perhaps tipsy on holy wine, flutter from discussions about ancient saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and common stories about useless partners. It is a contemporary musical from pop's most endlessly creative practitioner.
