At first glance, this work may look closer to a challenging academic examination rather than the latest pop album from a musician whose previous hit featured a global K-pop icon. Broken across 4 distinct parts and voiced in thirteen tongues, this is a dizzying orchestral-influenced work investigating feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and bodily transformation, often by way of the lens of various women saints. The end of a romance—a topic treated with raw openness on another major 2025 album—is shot upwards here, carried by the constant sound of a major orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer among a vast list of contributors. Its sheer ambition by itself makes the efforts of other artists appear rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
The fact that Lux succeeds in avoid overly intellectual posturing is nothing short of a miracle, and sole praise going to Rosalía. Although it's not her first project to alchemize the past with modern styles, its scale feel far higher here, with the tightrope walk far more precarious. The element that truly elevates this fourth album, beyond its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, proves to be a core sense of fun. Similar to the iconic Björk at her height, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls you up in its whirlwind. When she's tearing hearts apart, you nevertheless desire to stay right there for the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
That playful energy shines brightly during the stirring piano-led ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy for several minutes. Suddenly, everything falls silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous giggle and a declaration before a comically over-the-top orchestral surge crashes in with comedic force. The track then segues into the wild track featuring racing strings, a powerful choir, and a surprise appearance from none other than Björk.
"The charm of this album lies in the listener rarely quite know—nor want to predict—where it is going next."
Nearly every track ends at a totally different place than how it started. A track explores the fleeting nature of celebrity over a featherlight orchestration only to collapsing into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic work begins off dark and sinister, featuring menacing vocals, until sudden traditional handclaps and an angelic choir enter to smooth its rough corners.
The Bridge Between Experiment and Accessibility
Another crucial achievement of Lux is navigating the line between radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. It is no surprise that it has become the artist's highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of key markets: at its core a suite of truly undeniable hits. One track performed primarily in the English language swells around a chorus that seems to collect more and more nagging melodies while it spins skyward. That feat gets repeated by a different expansive ballad that grows and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies as a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms via its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns with cultural impact of other heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals carry a painted-on edge, akin to a fairy-tale character concealing a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
This album is popular music on a grand level, a hungry reach for capital-A Art amid of looming artificial sameness. It eschews solipsism for sublime elevation, crafting an over-the-top drama that skillfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. This is a deep well of buried treasure that requires patience to fully mine but doesn't feels like a chore. Where some major pop albums of the year seemed like a meager meal, Lux is a sumptuous banquet where the guests at the table, perhaps tipsy on holy wine, flutter from conversations about ancient saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and shared gossip about useless men. It is a contemporary musical from pop's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
