At first glance, Lux could seem closer to a difficult university quiz than the latest pop project from an artist who just had a previous single featured an international K-pop icon. Divided into 4 distinct sections and voiced in thirteen languages, we have a dizzying orchestral-influenced work that delves into feminine mystery, religious transcendence, and physical change, frequently by way of the perspective of various female saints. The end of a romance—a topic treated with grounded honesty on another major 2025 album—is shot skyward here, supported by the lush presence of a full orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer among a long list of contributors. Its sheer daring by itself renders the work of contemporary pop stars look rather laughable.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
That this album succeeds in escape dry intellectual posturing is nothing short of miraculous, with sole praise belonging to Rosalía. While it's not the first time project to blend historical sounds and the present, the stakes feel far higher on Lux, and the tightrope walk more dramatic. What truly raises her fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is a core sense of joy. Much like the legendary Björk during her peak, you find a wondrous sense to the vocalist's voice that pulls you up in its tornado. Even when she is breaking your heart apart, you still want to stay right there through the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
This playful spirit comes forth brightly on a stirring Italian ballad about Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four moments. Suddenly, everything falls away, to reveal there's a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration before a comically over-the-top string surge thuds down like cartoonish force. The song immediately segues to the wild track driven by galloping orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a cameo appearance from the artist herself.
"The magic with this album lies in you rarely quite understand—or even want to know—where it will go next."
Nearly every song concludes in a totally distinct point from where it began. One moment examines the transient nature of celebrity over a featherlight symphony before disintegrating into digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut echoing her previous trap-infused work begins out moody and sinister, with menacing vocals, before fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to smooth the song's jagged corners.
The Bridge Between Experiment and Pop
A key achievement on the album involves straddling the gap of radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. This is no coincidence that the album has achieved the artist's first release to break into the Top 5 of major markets: at its core a collection of utterly catchy pop songs. A song sung entirely in the English language swells around a chorus that seems to collect increasingly infectious melodies while it spirals upward. That feat is echoed by a different expansive track that expands and contracts, intertwining layered tunes like an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms with its jaunty, theatrical drama and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it aligns the pop culture honesty of contemporary breakup songs, eviscerating a former partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout the album, the singing carry a painted-on smile, like a storybook character concealing a blade: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
Lux is pop on a grand level, an ambitious grasp for high Art amid of looming AI-generated blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of sublime transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully manages its inherent ridiculousness. This is an abundant source of buried treasure that takes time to completely mine but doesn't seem like hard work. Where other big releases of 2025 seemed like feasting on scraps, Lux offers a lavish banquet at which the characters around it, some tipsy on sacred wine, flit from discussions about ancient figures, the profound feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and common gossip about hopeless partners. It is a contemporary theatrical production from music's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
