At first glance, this album could seem more like an arduous academic challenge rather than the latest pop project by a musician whose last hit was a collaboration with a global pop star. Split into four distinct movements and performed in 13 tongues, this is a dizzying classical-tinged album investigating female mystique, religious ascent, and bodily change, frequently by way of the perspective of various saintly figures. The dissolution of a romance—a topic treated with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—soars skyward on this record, supported by the constant sound of a major symphony orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a long list of collaborators. The pure daring by itself renders the work of contemporary artists appear quite laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
The fact that Lux manages to avoid overly academic chin-stroking feels nearly a miracle, and full praise belonging to the artist. While it's not the first time project to blend historical sounds with the present, its stakes feel far greater on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more precarious. What really raises her fourth album, beyond its complex tunes, rich compositions, and inherent theatricality, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Much like the iconic Björk during her peak, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's singing which sweeps you up in its whirlwind. Even when she is tearing your heart apart, you nevertheless want to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Prime Moment of Joy
This exuberant spirit comes forth clearly during the stirring Italian song inspired by a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy for several moments. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal we hear a gleeful giggle and a declaration prior to a comically exaggerated string crescendo crashes down with cartoonish force. The track immediately segues to the frenetic single driven by racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a surprise appearance from none other than herself.
"The charm with Lux lies in the listener rarely exactly understand—or even wish to predict—what you is going to next."
Almost every song concludes in a totally distinct place than how it began. A track explores the fleeting trappings of fame with a featherlight symphony before collapsing into electronic chaos. Another, a cut echoing her earlier trap-infused work starts off moody and sinister, with menacing beats, until fluttering traditional rhythms and an angelic choir arrive to smooth its jagged corners.
The Balance Of Experiment and Accessibility
A key achievement of Lux involves straddling the line of radical experimentation and broad appeal. This is no coincidence that it has achieved her first release to crack the upper reaches of key charts: at its core a collection of utterly catchy pop songs. One track performed primarily in the English language builds around a refrain that seems to gather increasingly infectious hooks as it spirals skyward. That trick is echoed by a different powerful ballad that grows and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies as an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it aligns the pop culture honesty of other heartbreak anthems, eviscerating a former lover labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the singing have a painted-on smile, like a fairy-tale character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
This album represents pop on a maximalist level, a hungry reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of sublime elevation, creating an over-the-top drama that skillfully controls its own built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep source of buried treasure that requires patience to completely explore but never seem like a chore. Where some big releases of the year seemed like a meager scraps, Lux is a sumptuous banquet at which the guests around it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter between conversations about ancient saints, the profound sensation of heartbreaking grief, and shared gossip about hopeless men. It is a modern-day musical from pop's most endlessly inventive visionary.
