Initially, this album may look more like an arduous university challenge than the latest popular music record by a musician whose last hit was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Split across 4 different sections and performed in 13 tongues, we have a breathtaking symphonic work exploring female mystique, religious transcendence, and corporal change, often through the perspective of different female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with grounded honesty on another major 2025 album—is shot heavenward on this record, buoyed by the lush sound of a major orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a long list of contributors. Its sheer daring by itself renders the efforts of contemporary artists seem rather small.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
The fact that this album manages to transcend dry intellectual chin-stroking feels nearly a miracle, and sole praise going to the artist. Although it's not her first project to fuse historical sounds with modern styles, the scale feel far greater here, with the balancing act far more precarious. The element that really elevates this fourth release, beyond its multilayered tunes, dense arrangements, and inherent theatricality, is a core sense of fun. Much like the iconic Björk at her height, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. When she is breaking hearts apart, the listener still want to stay right there through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Joy
This playful energy shines brightly during a stunning Italian song about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy over more than four minutes. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a comment before a hilariously over-the-top orchestral crescendo thuds down like cartoonish impact. The song immediately shifts into the wild single featuring racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from the artist herself.
"The charm with this album is that you rarely quite know—or even want to predict—where it is going next."
Almost each track ends at a totally distinct point than where it began. One moment explores the transient trappings of celebrity over a delicate symphony before collapsing into electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused style starts out moody and sinister, featuring prowling vocals, until fluttering flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir enter to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Bridge Between Art and Accessibility
A key balancing act of the album is navigating the gap between bold experimentation and mainstream accessibility. This is little coincidence that the album has achieved her highest-charting release to break into the upper reaches of key charts: at its core a suite of truly undeniable hits. One track sung entirely in English swells around a chorus that seems to collect more and more nagging hooks while it spins upward. This feat gets repeated by another powerful ballad that expands and constricts, weaving multiple tunes like a complex weave.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its playful, theatrical flair and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns with pop culture honesty of other breakup songs, lambasting an ex- lover described as an "psychological terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the vocals carry a sharp smile, like a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
Lux represents popular music on a grand level, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art amid of impending artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious elevation, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully controls its own inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of hidden gems that requires patience to completely explore but doesn't feels like a chore. While some major releases of 2025 felt like a meager scraps, Lux offers a sumptuous banquet at which the characters at the table, perhaps tipsy on holy wine, flit from conversations about ancient figures, the profound feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common stories about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from pop's truly endlessly creative practitioner.
