On the surface, this work might appear more like a challenging scholarly challenge rather than the latest popular music record by a musician whose previous single was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Divided into 4 separate sections and voiced in thirteen tongues, we have a head-spinning classical-tinged work that delves into female mystery, spiritual ascent, and corporal transformation, often via the prism of different women saints. The end of a relationship—a theme handled with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—soars upwards here, carried by the lush sound of a major orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter within a vast list of collaborators. Its sheer daring by itself makes the efforts of other pop stars seem quite small.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
The fact that Lux succeeds in transcend overly academic chin-stroking is nothing short of a miracle, with full credit belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not her first album to fuse historical sounds with modern styles, the stakes are much higher on Lux, with the balancing act more dramatic. The element that truly raises this fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, dense compositions, and inherent drama, is an essential sense of fun. Much like the legendary Björk during her peak, you find a captivating sense to Rosalía's singing which sweeps you up in its tornado. When she is tearing your heart in two, you nevertheless want to stay alongside her for the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
This exuberant energy shines brightly on the stunning piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops silent, and there's a gleeful laugh and a declaration prior to a comically exaggerated string surge crashes down with comedic impact. The track immediately segues to the wild single featuring galloping strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The magic with Lux lies in the listener rarely quite understand—or even wish to know—what it is going next."
Nearly each track ends in a totally different point than how it began. A track explores the fleeting trappings of fame over a featherlight symphony only to disintegrating into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls her earlier trap-infused style begins off dark and brooding, featuring prowling beats, until fluttering traditional rhythms and an angelic chorus enter to smooth its jagged corners.
The Bridge Of Experiment & Pop
A key balancing act of Lux is navigating the gap of bold experimentation and mainstream appeal. This is little coincidence that the album has achieved the artist's first work to crack the Top 5 of key charts: at its core a suite of truly undeniable pop songs. A song performed primarily in English builds around a chorus that feels to gather increasingly nagging hooks as it spirals upward. That trick is repeated by another powerful track that grows and constricts, weaving multiple melodies as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song charms via its playful, theatrical flair and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it aligns the pop culture impact of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting an ex- partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on smile, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
Lux is popular music on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for high artistry in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It rejects solipsism for glorious transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its inherent excess. This is a deep well of buried gems that requires time to completely explore but never seem like a chore. While some major pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, Lux offers a lavish banquet at which the guests at the table, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flutter from conversations about historical figures, the profound feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about useless partners. It is a contemporary musical from pop's most endlessly inventive visionary.
