On the surface, Lux could seem more like a difficult scholarly quiz rather than a new pop project by an artist who just had a last hit featured a global K-pop star. Divided across four separate sections and sung in 13 languages, we have a head-spinning symphonic work investigating female mystique, spiritual ascent, and bodily change, frequently via the prism of various female saints. The dissolution of a romance—a theme treated with raw openness on another major 2025 album—soars upwards on this record, supported by the constant presence of a major orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter within a vast list of contributors. Its sheer audacity alone makes the efforts of other pop stars look rather small.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that this album succeeds in escape overly intellectual posturing feels almost a miracle, with sole credit belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time project to alchemize the past with modern styles, its scale feel far higher on Lux, and the balancing act far more precarious. The element that truly elevates her fourth release, beyond its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of joy. Similar to the legendary Björk at her peak, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls you up in its whirlwind. When she is breaking your heart in two, you still desire to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Example of Exuberance
This exuberant energy comes forth clearly during a stunning Italian ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy over more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls away, to reveal we hear a spontaneous giggle and a comment before a comically over-the-top string surge crashes in like cartoonish force. The track then shifts to the wild track featuring racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a surprise role from the artist herself.
"The charm with this album is that you rarely exactly know—or even want to predict—what you will go to next."
Almost every track ends in a totally distinct point than where it began. One moment explores the fleeting nature of celebrity over a featherlight symphony only to disintegrating into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing her previous rhythmic work begins off moody and brooding, with prowling vocals, until fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften its jagged edges.
The Balance Between Experiment & Pop
Another crucial balancing act of Lux involves straddling the gap of radical experimentation and broad accessibility. It is little coincidence that it has become her first work to crack the upper reaches of key markets: at its core a collection of utterly catchy hits. One track sung primarily in English swells on a refrain that feels to collect increasingly nagging hooks while it spins upward. That trick gets repeated on another powerful ballad that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple tunes like an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song charms via its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it shares the cultural honesty of contemporary heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former partner labeled an "psychological bully".
- Throughout the album, the vocals have a painted-on smile, akin to a storybook character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
This album is popular music on a grand level, an ambitious reach for capital-A artistry amid of impending AI-generated sameness. It rejects self-absorption for glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully manages its inherent excess. This is an abundant source of hidden treasure that takes patience to fully explore but never seem like hard work. While other major pop albums of 2025 seemed like feasting on meal, this record offers a sumptuous banquet at which the characters at it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred wine, flutter from conversations about historical saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from music's truly endlessly creative practitioner.
