Initially, this album may look more like a challenging university challenge rather than a new popular music album by an artist who just had a previous hit featured an international K-pop icon. Divided into 4 separate movements and sung in 13 languages, we have a dizzying symphonic album investigating feminine mystique, religious transcendence, and corporal change, frequently through the lens of various female saints. The end of a love affair—a topic treated with grounded openness elsewhere—is launched upwards here, buoyed by the constant presence of a full orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer among an extensive roll call of collaborators. The pure ambition alone renders the efforts of contemporary artists appear rather laughable.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
That Lux succeeds in avoid overly academic chin-stroking is nearly miraculous, with sole credit going to the artist. Although it's not her first album to alchemize historical sounds and the present, the ambitions are much greater on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more precarious. The element that really raises her fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, dense compositions, and inherent theatricality, proves to be an essential spirit of joy. Much like the legendary Björk at her peak, there is a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener into its tornado. Even when she's breaking hearts in two, you nevertheless desire to be right there through the journey.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
This exuberant spirit comes forth brightly during a stunning Italian song inspired by a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool for several minutes. Then, everything drops away, and there's a gleeful giggle followed by a comment before a hilariously over-the-top orchestral surge crashes in with comedic force. The song then shifts to the wild track featuring racing strings, a powerful choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist herself.
"The charm of Lux is that the listener never exactly understand—or even wish to predict—what you is going next."
Nearly every track ends in a totally different point than how it began. One moment examines the transient nature of fame with a delicate symphony only to disintegrating in digital chaos. Another, a cut that recalls her previous trap-infused style starts off moody and sinister, featuring prowling beats, until sudden flamenco rhythms and an angelic chorus arrive to smooth its jagged corners.
The Balance Between Art and Pop
A key balancing act of Lux involves straddling the gap between radical experimentation and broad accessibility. It is no coincidence that the album has become the artist's first release to crack the upper reaches of major markets: at its core a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. One track performed entirely in English swells around a refrain that seems to gather more and more infectious melodies while it spirals skyward. This trick gets echoed by another expansive ballad that expands and constricts, weaving multiple melodies like an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song charms with its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns the pop culture honesty of contemporary breakup songs, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the vocals carry a sharp smile, like a storybook character concealing a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
This album represents popular music on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for high Art in an era of looming AI-generated blankness. It rejects self-absorption for glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its built-in excess. It is a deep source of buried gems that takes time to completely mine but never feels like hard work. While other big pop albums of 2025 seemed like a meager scraps, Lux offers a sumptuous banquet where the guests around the table, some tipsy on sacred wine, flutter from conversations about ancient figures, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about useless men. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from music's most endlessly creative visionary.
