At first glance, this album may look more like an arduous university examination rather than a new pop record from a musician who just had a last single was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Divided into four distinct sections and voiced in thirteen languages, we have a breathtaking symphonic work exploring female mystery, religious ascent, and physical transformation, often by way of the prism of different female saints. The end of a love affair—a theme handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—is launched upwards on this record, carried by the constant sound of a full orchestra and work from an award-winning composer within an extensive list of contributors. The pure ambition alone makes the work of contemporary pop stars seem rather laughable.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That this album manages to escape dry academic posturing feels almost a miracle, with full praise going to the artist. Although it's not the first time album to alchemize the past and the present, the stakes are far greater on Lux, and the tightrope walk far more precarious. The element that truly elevates this fourth release, beyond its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and inherent theatricality, is an essential sense of fun. Similar to the legendary Björk at her peak, there is a captivating sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps you up in its whirlwind. When she is tearing hearts apart, the listener still want to be alongside her for the ride.
A Signature Example of Exuberance
That playful energy shines brightly during a stunning piano-led song about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over several moments. Suddenly, everything drops silent, to reveal we hear a gleeful giggle followed by a comment prior to a hilariously over-the-top string surge thuds in like cartoonish impact. The song immediately shifts into the frenetic track featuring racing strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo role from none other than herself.
"The magic with Lux lies in you rarely quite understand—or even want to know—where you is going next."
Almost every track ends at a completely different point from how it started. A track explores the transient nature of celebrity with a featherlight symphony before collapsing in electronic chaos. Another, a song echoing the artist's previous trap-infused work begins off moody and sinister, featuring menacing vocals, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and a heavenly choir arrive to soften its rough corners.
The Balance Between Experiment and Accessibility
A key achievement on the album is straddling the line of radical innovation and broad appeal. This is little surprise that the album has achieved the artist's first release to crack the Top 5 of major markets: at its core a suite of truly catchy pop songs. One track performed entirely in the English language builds on a refrain that feels to collect more and more infectious hooks as it spirals upward. That feat is echoed by a different powerful ballad that grows and contracts, intertwining layered melodies like a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares the pop culture honesty of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating an ex- partner labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across the album, the singing carry a painted-on edge, like a fairy-tale figure concealing a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
This album is popular music on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for capital-A artistry in an era of impending artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of sublime transcendence, crafting an over-the-top drama that skillfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. This is a deep source of buried gems that requires time to fully explore but doesn't feels like a chore. While some big pop albums of 2025 seemed like a meager scraps, Lux is a lavish banquet at which the guests at the table, some intoxicated on holy drink, flit from conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about useless partners. It is a contemporary theatrical production from music's most restlessly creative visionary.
