On the surface, this work could seem more like an arduous university examination rather than a new pop record from an artist whose previous single was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Broken across four different parts and performed in thirteen languages, we have a breathtaking orchestral-influenced album exploring female mystery, religious ascent, and bodily change, often via the perspective of various female saints. The end of a romance—a theme treated with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—is launched upwards here, buoyed by the lush sound of a major orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a vast list of collaborators. Its sheer daring by itself renders the work of contemporary pop stars appear quite modest.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
The fact that this album manages to avoid dry academic chin-stroking feels almost a miracle, with sole credit belonging to the artist. While it's not her first project to fuse the past and modern styles, the ambitions feel much greater on Lux, with the tightrope walk more precarious. The element that truly raises this fourth release, outside of its complex tunes, dense arrangements, and engrained drama, proves to be a core sense of joy. Similar to the legendary Björk at her height, there is a captivating sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls you up in its whirlwind. Even when she's breaking hearts apart, you still want to stay right there through the journey.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
This exuberant energy shines brightly during the stirring piano-led song inspired by a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four moments. Suddenly, all the music drops silent, to reveal there's a gleeful giggle and a comment before a comically over-the-top orchestral surge crashes down with cartoonish impact. The track immediately segues to the frenetic single featuring racing strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from the artist Björk.
"The magic with this album lies in you never quite understand—or even want to predict—what it will go to next."
Almost each track ends in a completely different point from how it started. A track examines the transient nature of celebrity with a featherlight symphony only to collapsing into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her earlier trap-infused style begins out moody and sinister, with menacing vocals, until sudden flamenco handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to smooth its rough corners.
The Balance Between Art & Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act of Lux is straddling the gap between radical experimentation and broad appeal. This is no coincidence that it has achieved her highest-charting work to crack the Top 5 of major markets: its heart contains a collection of truly catchy pop songs. One track sung primarily in English builds around a refrain that feels to collect more and more infectious melodies as it spirals skyward. This trick is repeated on a different powerful track that grows and contracts, intertwining multiple tunes like an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture honesty of contemporary breakup anthems, lambasting a former lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on edge, akin to a fairy-tale figure concealing a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
Lux is pop on a maximalist scale, an ambitious reach for high Art in an era of looming artificial blankness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of sublime elevation, creating an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its own built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep well of buried treasure that requires patience to fully mine but never seem like hard work. While some major pop albums of 2025 felt like feasting on scraps, Lux is a sumptuous feast where the guests at it, some intoxicated on holy wine, flutter between conversations about historical figures, the profound sensation of soul-shattering grief, and common gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from pop's truly restlessly creative visionary.
