At first glance, this album could seem more like a difficult scholarly quiz than a new popular music record by an artist whose previous hit was a collaboration with a global pop star. Split into 4 different parts and voiced in thirteen tongues, this is a dizzying symphonic album investigating feminine mystery, religious transcendence, and bodily transformation, frequently through the prism of various female saints. The end of a love affair—a theme treated with raw openness on another major 2025 album—is launched upwards here, carried by the constant presence of a major symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter among an extensive roll call of collaborators. The pure ambition by itself renders the work of other artists seem rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that this album succeeds in transcend overly academic chin-stroking feels almost miraculous, with sole praise going to Rosalía. Although it's not her first album to fuse historical sounds with the present, its scale are far greater here, and the tightrope walk far more precarious. What truly raises this fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential sense of fun. Much like the iconic Björk at her peak, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls you up in its tornado. When she is tearing your heart apart, the listener still want to be right there for the journey.
A Prime Example of Joy
That playful spirit shines brightly during a stunning Italian song about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four moments. Suddenly, everything drops away, and there's a gleeful giggle followed by a comment before a hilariously exaggerated orchestral surge crashes in like cartoonish impact. The track then shifts to the frenetic track featuring galloping orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo appearance from the artist herself.
"The magic of this album lies in the listener never quite understand—nor want to predict—what you is going to next."
Nearly each song ends at a completely different point than where it began. A track examines the fleeting nature of fame with a delicate orchestration before disintegrating in electronic chaos. Another, a cut that recalls her earlier trap-infused style starts off moody and brooding, with menacing vocals, until fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften its jagged corners.
The Bridge Between Experiment and Pop
Another crucial balancing act on the album involves straddling the line between radical experimentation and broad accessibility. It is little coincidence that it has become the artist's highest-charting work to crack the Top 5 of major markets: at its core a suite of truly undeniable pop songs. A song performed primarily in English swells on a chorus that seems to collect more and more infectious hooks while it spirals skyward. This feat is repeated by another expansive track that expands and contracts, weaving layered melodies like an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused number seduces via its jaunty, theatrical drama and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns with cultural honesty of other heartbreak anthems, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing carry a sharp edge, akin to a storybook character concealing a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
Lux represents popular music on a grand level, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry amid of impending AI-generated blankness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious elevation, creating an over-the-top drama that skillfully manages its own built-in excess. It is a deep well of buried gems that requires time to completely explore but doesn't seem like a chore. While other big releases of the year felt like feasting on scraps, Lux offers a lavish feast at which the guests around the table, some intoxicated on holy drink, flutter between discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common gossip about hopeless partners. It is a contemporary musical from music's truly restlessly inventive visionary.
