On the surface, this work might appear more like a challenging university challenge than a new pop project by an artist who just had a last single featured an international pop star. Divided across 4 different parts and sung in thirteen languages, we have a breathtaking classical-tinged opus investigating female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and bodily transformation, frequently by way of the perspective of different saintly figures. The end of a romance—a theme treated with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—is shot upwards here, buoyed by the lush sound of a full orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter among a vast list of collaborators. Its sheer audacity by itself renders the efforts of other pop stars seem quite laughable.
Transcending Academic Pretense
That this album manages to avoid overly academic posturing feels almost miraculous, with sole praise belonging to the artist. Although it's not her first project to blend historical sounds with the present, its stakes feel much greater on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more pronounced. The element that truly raises this fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, dense arrangements, and engrained drama, proves to be an essential spirit of joy. Similar to the iconic artist during her height, there is a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls you into its whirlwind. When she's tearing hearts in two, you nevertheless want to stay right there through the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
This playful spirit comes forth clearly during the stirring piano-led ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four minutes. Then, all the music falls silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous giggle and a comment before a comically over-the-top string surge thuds in with comedic impact. The song then segues to the frenetic single featuring galloping strings, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist Björk.
"The charm with Lux is that you rarely exactly understand—or even want to know—where you will go to next."
Almost every song finishes in a totally different point than how it started. A track examines the fleeting nature of fame with a delicate orchestration before disintegrating in digital chaos. Another, a song that recalls her previous rhythmic work starts off dark and brooding, with prowling beats, until fluttering flamenco rhythms and an angelic chorus enter to smooth its jagged edges.
The Bridge Between Art and Pop
Another crucial achievement on Lux involves straddling the gap between radical innovation and broad accessibility. It is little surprise that the album has achieved her first work to break into the upper reaches of major markets: its heart contains a collection of truly catchy hits. One track sung entirely in the English language builds on a chorus that feels to collect more and more infectious melodies while it spirals skyward. That feat is echoed by a different expansive ballad that grows and constricts, intertwining layered tunes like a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like song charms with its playful, theatrical drama and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the pop culture honesty of other heartbreak anthems, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing carry a sharp edge, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You've the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
Lux is popular music on a maximalist scale, an ambitious grasp for capital-A Art in an era of impending artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism for glorious transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully controls its own built-in excess. It is an abundant source of hidden gems that requires time to completely explore but never seem like a chore. While some big pop albums of 2025 seemed like a meager meal, this record is a sumptuous feast at which the characters around the table, some tipsy on sacred wine, flutter from conversations about historical figures, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and common stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's most restlessly creative visionary.
