On the surface, this work may look more like a difficult university challenge than a new pop record by a musician whose last hit was a collaboration with a global pop star. Broken across 4 different movements and voiced in thirteen tongues, we have a dizzying classical-tinged work that delves into feminine mystique, religious ascent, and physical change, often via the lens of different female saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—is shot skyward here, supported by the constant sound of a major orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a vast list of collaborators. The pure daring by itself renders the work of contemporary pop stars appear rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That Lux manages to transcend overly academic posturing is nothing short of a miracle, and full praise going to Rosalía. While it's not the first time album to fuse historical sounds and modern styles, the stakes feel far greater on Lux, with the balancing act far more dramatic. What really raises this fourth album, beyond its multilayered melodies, dense compositions, and inherent theatricality, proves to be an essential spirit of playfulness. Much like the iconic artist at her height, there is a wondrous sense to the vocalist's voice which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. When she's tearing your heart apart, the listener still desire to stay right there through the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
That exuberant energy shines brightly on a stirring Italian ballad about a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four moments. Then, everything drops silent, and there's a gleeful giggle and a declaration prior to a comically over-the-top string surge thuds in with cartoonish force. The song immediately segues into the frenetic track driven by racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from the artist Björk.
"The charm with this album lies in you rarely quite know—or even wish to know—where you is going next."
Nearly each track finishes in a completely different place from how it started. A track examines the transient trappings of fame with a delicate symphony only to collapsing into electronic cacophony. Another, a cut echoing her previous rhythmic work starts out moody and brooding, featuring menacing beats, before sudden traditional rhythms and an angelic choir enter to soften the song's rough edges.
The Bridge Between Art and Pop
A key balancing act of Lux involves navigating the line of radical experimentation and broad appeal. It is no coincidence that the album has become her highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of major markets: at its core a collection of truly undeniable hits. A song sung entirely in the English language swells on a refrain that seems to gather increasingly infectious melodies while it spins upward. That feat is echoed on another powerful track that grows and constricts, intertwining layered melodies as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it aligns the pop culture impact of other breakup songs, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals carry a sharp smile, akin to a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You have the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
Lux represents popular music on a grand level, an ambitious grasp for high Art in an era of impending AI-generated sameness. It rejects self-absorption for glorious transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its built-in excess. This is an abundant well of hidden gems that requires patience to completely explore but doesn't seem like a chore. Where other big releases of 2025 felt like feasting on meal, Lux is a sumptuous banquet at which the guests at the table, some tipsy on sacred wine, flutter between discussions about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and common gossip about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from pop's most restlessly creative visionary.
