On the surface, this album might appear closer to a challenging scholarly examination than the latest pop record by an artist who just had a previous hit featured an international pop icon. Split across 4 separate sections and performed in thirteen tongues, it is a dizzying orchestral-influenced work that delves into feminine mystique, religious transcendence, and physical change, frequently by way of the lens of various saintly figures. The end of a romance—a theme handled with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—is shot skyward here, carried by the constant presence of a full orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter among an extensive list of contributors. The pure daring by itself makes the work of contemporary artists look quite laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
The fact that this album manages to avoid dry intellectual chin-stroking is nearly miraculous, and complete praise going to Rosalía. While this is not the first time project to blend historical sounds with the present, the ambitions feel far higher on Lux, and the tightrope walk far more dramatic. What really elevates her fourth release, outside of its complex melodies, rich compositions, and engrained drama, is an essential spirit of fun. Similar to the iconic Björk during her peak, you find a captivating sense to the vocalist's voice that pulls you into its whirlwind. Even when she's breaking your heart in two, you still desire to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Joy
That playful energy shines clearly on the stirring piano-led song inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy over several moments. Then, everything falls away, to reveal there's a gleeful giggle and a comment before a comically over-the-top orchestral crescendo crashes in with cartoonish impact. The track then segues into the frenetic track featuring racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a surprise role from none other than herself.
"The magic with this album is that you never exactly understand—or even wish to know—what it will go next."
Almost every track concludes at a completely distinct point from how it started. One moment explores the transient nature of fame over a delicate symphony before disintegrating in electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing the artist's previous rhythmic work begins out moody and sinister, featuring prowling vocals, until sudden traditional rhythms and a heavenly chorus enter to smooth its jagged corners.
The Balance Between Experiment & Accessibility
A key balancing act of the album is straddling the line of radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. This is no coincidence that it has achieved the artist's first release to crack the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a collection of truly catchy pop songs. A song sung entirely in the English language builds on a refrain that seems to gather more and more infectious hooks while it spins upward. That feat is echoed by a different powerful ballad that expands and constricts, intertwining layered melodies like an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it aligns with cultural impact of other heartbreak anthems, eviscerating an ex- partner labeled an "psychological bully".
- Across these tracks, the singing have a sharp smile, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You've the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
Lux is popular music on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for high artistry in an era of looming artificial blankness. It rejects solipsism in favor of sublime transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully controls its inherent excess. It is a deep well of hidden gems that takes patience to fully explore but doesn't seem like a chore. While some major releases of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, Lux is a lavish feast where the guests around it, perhaps intoxicated on holy drink, flit between conversations about historical saints, the profound sensation of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from music's most restlessly creative visionary.
