Initially, Lux might appear more like a difficult academic challenge than the latest popular music project by a musician who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Split into four different movements and performed in thirteen languages, it is a dizzying symphonic opus exploring female mystique, religious ascent, and physical change, often via the lens of different female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with raw openness on another major 2025 album—soars skyward on this record, carried by the constant presence of a major symphony orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within an extensive list of contributors. Its sheer ambition by itself renders the efforts of contemporary artists look rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That this album succeeds in escape dry academic chin-stroking is almost a miracle, with full praise going to the artist. While it's not her first project to alchemize the past and modern styles, its ambitions are much higher on Lux, and the tightrope walk far more precarious. The element that truly elevates her fourth album, beyond its complex melodies, dense arrangements, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential sense of joy. Similar to the legendary Björk at her height, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's singing which sweeps you into its tornado. Even when she's breaking hearts in two, you nevertheless want to be alongside her for the ride.
A Prime Moment of Joy
That exuberant spirit shines brightly on a stunning piano-led song inspired by a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool for more than four moments. Then, all the music drops away, to reveal there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a comment before a comically exaggerated string surge thuds in with comedic impact. The song then segues into the frenetic track driven by galloping strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The charm with Lux is that you rarely quite understand—nor wish to know—what it is going next."
Nearly every track ends in a totally distinct place than how it began. One moment explores the fleeting nature of fame with a featherlight orchestration only to collapsing into electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a song echoing her previous trap-infused work starts off dark and sinister, featuring menacing vocals, before sudden traditional handclaps and an angelic chorus arrive to smooth its jagged corners.
The Balance Between Experiment & Pop
Another crucial achievement of the album involves navigating the line between bold innovation and mainstream accessibility. It is little surprise that it has achieved the artist's first work to crack the Top 5 of major charts: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. One track performed primarily in the English language swells on a refrain that seems to gather increasingly infectious melodies while it spins upward. That feat is echoed by another powerful track that grows and constricts, weaving multiple tunes as a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns with cultural impact of other breakup anthems, lambasting a former lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on smile, akin to a storybook figure concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
This album is pop on a grand level, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of impending artificial blankness. It rejects solipsism in favor of glorious elevation, creating an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its built-in excess. This is a deep source of hidden treasure that takes patience to fully mine but never seem like a chore. While other major releases of the year felt like a meager scraps, this record is a lavish feast at which the guests around the table, some intoxicated on sacred wine, flit between discussions about historical figures, the profound sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and shared gossip about useless partners. It is a contemporary musical from music's truly endlessly inventive visionary.
