At first glance, this album may look more like a difficult academic examination than the latest pop record by an artist whose previous hit was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Broken across four separate parts and sung in thirteen tongues, this is a dizzying classical-tinged opus that delves into female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and bodily change, often through the lens of various women saints. The end of a romance—a theme handled with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—is launched heavenward on this record, supported by the lush presence of a full orchestra and contributions from an award-winning songwriter among an extensive list of collaborators. Its sheer ambition alone makes the work of other artists seem quite small.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
That Lux succeeds in transcend dry academic chin-stroking feels almost miraculous, and complete praise belonging to Rosalía. While it's not the first time album to fuse the past and the present, its scale feel much greater here, with the tightrope walk more pronounced. What truly elevates her fourth album, beyond its complex tunes, dense arrangements, and engrained theatricality, proves to be a core sense of joy. Much like the iconic Björk at her peak, there is a captivating sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls you into its whirlwind. Even when she is breaking hearts in two, the listener still want to stay alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Joy
That playful energy comes forth clearly on the stirring piano-led song about Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over several moments. Suddenly, everything falls away, and there's a gleeful laugh and a comment prior to a comically over-the-top orchestral crescendo crashes in like cartoonish impact. The track immediately segues into the frenetic track featuring racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a surprise role from none other than herself.
"The charm with this album lies in you never exactly know—or even want to know—what you will go to next."
Nearly each track finishes in a completely distinct place from how it began. One moment examines the transient trappings of celebrity with a delicate orchestration before disintegrating in digital chaos. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's previous rhythmic style begins out moody and sinister, featuring prowling vocals, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and a heavenly chorus enter to soften the song's rough edges.
The Balance Of Art and Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act of the album involves straddling the line between radical experimentation and mainstream accessibility. This is little coincidence that the album has achieved her first release to break into the Top 5 of key charts: at its core a collection of truly catchy pop songs. One track performed primarily in English swells on a refrain that seems to gather increasingly infectious melodies as it spirals skyward. This feat is repeated on a different expansive track that expands and constricts, weaving layered tunes as an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused number charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture honesty of other heartbreak songs, lambasting a former lover described as an "psychological bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing carry a sharp smile, like a fairy-tale figure concealing a knife: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You have won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
Lux is popular music on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism for glorious elevation, creating an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its own built-in excess. It is a deep well of buried treasure that requires patience to completely mine but doesn't seem like hard work. Where some big pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on meal, Lux offers a lavish banquet where the guests around the table, perhaps intoxicated on holy drink, flit from discussions about ancient saints, the profound feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and shared gossip about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from pop's truly endlessly creative visionary.
