On the surface, this work may look more like a difficult university quiz than the latest pop project from a musician who just had a last single was a collaboration with an international pop star. Broken across 4 different sections and sung in 13 languages, this is a breathtaking orchestral-influenced work investigating feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and bodily change, often by way of the prism of various women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme handled with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—soars skyward here, supported by the constant sound of a full symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter among a vast roll call of collaborators. The pure ambition by itself makes the work of other pop stars appear quite modest.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
That this album manages to escape dry academic posturing is nearly miraculous, with complete praise belonging to Rosalía. Although this is not her first project to fuse the past with the present, the ambitions are much greater here, and the tightrope walk far more precarious. The element that really elevates her fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and engrained drama, is a core spirit of playfulness. Similar to the iconic Björk at her peak, there is a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener into its tornado. Even when she is tearing hearts apart, the listener nevertheless want to stay right there for the ride.
A Prime Moment of Joy
This playful spirit shines brightly on a stirring piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four minutes. Suddenly, everything falls silent, to reveal there's a gleeful laugh and a comment before a hilariously over-the-top string crescendo thuds in with comedic impact. The track immediately shifts to the frenetic single driven by racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The charm of this album lies in the listener never exactly know—nor wish to know—where it will go next."
Almost every track finishes at a completely different point from where it began. A track explores the fleeting nature of fame with a featherlight symphony before disintegrating into digital cacophony. Another, a song that recalls the artist's earlier trap-infused style starts off dark and brooding, featuring prowling beats, before fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir enter to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Balance Of Art & Pop
Another crucial achievement on Lux is straddling the line of bold innovation and broad appeal. This is little coincidence that it has achieved the artist's highest-charting work to break into the Top 5 of major charts: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable hits. One track performed primarily in the English language swells on a chorus that seems to collect increasingly nagging hooks as it spirals skyward. That trick gets echoed on another expansive ballad that expands and constricts, intertwining multiple melodies like an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like number charms via its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture honesty of contemporary heartbreak anthems, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Across the album, the singing carry a sharp edge, like a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
Lux is pop on a maximalist level, an ambitious reach for high Art in an era of looming artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism for sublime transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its own inherent ridiculousness. It is a deep source of buried treasure that takes time to completely mine but never feels like hard work. Where other major pop albums of 2025 seemed like a meager scraps, this record is a lavish feast where the characters around the table, perhaps tipsy on holy drink, flit between discussions about historical saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common gossip about hopeless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's most restlessly inventive practitioner.
