At first glance, this work might appear closer to an arduous scholarly challenge rather than the latest popular music project from a musician who just had a previous hit featured a global pop star. Divided across four separate movements and voiced in thirteen tongues, this is a dizzying classical-tinged work investigating female mystique, spiritual ascent, and physical change, often by way of the lens of different women saints. The end of a love affair—a topic treated with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—is shot upwards here, buoyed by the lush presence of a full symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter among a vast list of contributors. Its sheer ambition alone renders the efforts of contemporary pop stars seem quite laughable.
Transcending Academic Pretense
The fact that Lux manages to avoid dry academic posturing is almost miraculous, and sole praise going to Rosalía. Although this is not her first album to alchemize historical sounds and modern styles, the stakes are far higher here, and the balancing act more precarious. The element that really raises her fourth release, beyond its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and inherent drama, proves to be an essential sense of joy. Much like the legendary artist at her peak, there is a wondrous quality to the vocalist's voice that pulls you into its whirlwind. Even when she's tearing your heart in two, you nevertheless want to stay alongside her for the ride.
A Prime Moment of Joy
That playful spirit shines brightly during the stunning piano-led song inspired by a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls away, and we hear a gleeful giggle followed by a comment before a hilariously over-the-top string crescendo crashes down with comedic force. The song then segues into the frenetic single featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a surprise role from none other than Björk.
"The charm of this album lies in you rarely quite know—nor wish to predict—what you is going to next."
Almost each song concludes in a totally distinct place than how it started. A track explores the fleeting nature of celebrity with a delicate symphony only to collapsing in digital cacophony. Another, a cut echoing the artist's previous trap-infused work begins out moody and brooding, with prowling vocals, before fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to soften the song's jagged edges.
The Balance Between Experiment & Pop
A key balancing act on Lux is navigating the line of radical innovation and mainstream appeal. It is little surprise that it has achieved her highest-charting release to break into the upper reaches of major markets: its heart contains a collection of truly catchy pop songs. One track sung primarily in the English language swells around a refrain that seems to collect increasingly infectious melodies as it spirals upward. This trick gets repeated on another powerful ballad that expands and constricts, weaving multiple tunes as an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused song seduces via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares the pop culture honesty of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting a former lover labeled an "psychological bully".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a sharp edge, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a grand level, an ambitious grasp for capital-A Art amid of impending artificial blankness. It rejects solipsism in favor of glorious elevation, creating an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully controls its own inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant well of hidden treasure that takes patience to completely mine but doesn't feels like hard work. While other major releases of the year seemed like feasting on meal, this record is a lavish feast where the guests around it, perhaps tipsy on holy wine, flutter between conversations about ancient figures, the profound feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and shared stories about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's most endlessly creative practitioner.
