On the surface, Lux may look more like an arduous academic quiz than the latest pop project from an artist who just had a last single was a collaboration with a global K-pop star. Broken into four distinct parts and sung in thirteen languages, this is a head-spinning symphonic album exploring female mystique, spiritual ascent, and bodily change, frequently by way of the lens of different female saints. The dissolution of a romance—a topic handled with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—is shot heavenward here, buoyed by the constant presence of a major orchestra and work from an award-winning composer within a long roll call of contributors. The pure daring alone renders the efforts of contemporary artists seem quite modest.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
That this album manages to transcend overly intellectual posturing is almost a miracle, with sole praise going to Rosalía. While it's not the first time project to blend the past with modern styles, the stakes are far greater here, with the balancing act more dramatic. The element that truly elevates this fourth release, beyond its complex tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, is an essential spirit of joy. Much like the iconic Björk at her peak, there is a captivating sense to the vocalist's singing which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. When she is tearing your heart in two, you nevertheless desire to be alongside her through the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
This playful energy comes forth clearly on the stunning piano-led ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy for more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops silent, and there's a spontaneous laugh and a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo crashes in with comedic force. The song immediately segues to the wild track driven by galloping orchestration, an imposing choir, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The magic with this album is that the listener rarely quite know—nor want to know—where it is going next."
Nearly each track finishes in a completely different point than where it began. One moment explores the transient trappings of celebrity over a featherlight symphony before disintegrating into digital cacophony. Another, a cut echoing the artist's previous trap-infused work starts off dark and brooding, featuring menacing beats, before sudden flamenco rhythms and an angelic choir arrive to smooth its rough edges.
The Balance Between Experiment & Accessibility
A key balancing act on Lux involves navigating the gap between bold innovation and mainstream appeal. This is little surprise that the album has become the artist's highest-charting release to break into the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable hits. One track sung entirely in English swells on a chorus that seems to gather more and more infectious hooks as it spirals skyward. That feat gets repeated on a different powerful track that expands and constricts, weaving multiple tunes as a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused song seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares with cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, lambasting an ex- partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout the album, the vocals carry a sharp edge, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
This album is pop on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism for glorious transcendence, crafting a dramatic spectacle that masterfully controls its own inherent excess. It is an abundant well of buried gems that requires time to completely mine but doesn't feels like hard work. Where some major releases of 2025 seemed like feasting on meal, this record is a lavish feast where the characters at the table, some intoxicated on holy wine, flutter between conversations about historical figures, the profound feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from music's truly restlessly inventive visionary.
