At first glance, this work may look closer to an arduous academic challenge than a new pop album from a musician who just had a previous hit featured a global pop icon. Broken into 4 distinct parts and voiced in thirteen tongues, we have a breathtaking classical-tinged album investigating female mystery, religious ascent, and corporal transformation, often through the perspective of various women saints. The end of a romance—a theme treated with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—is shot upwards on this record, supported by the constant presence of a full orchestra and input from an award-winning composer within a vast list of collaborators. The pure ambition by itself makes the efforts of other artists appear quite laughable.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
The fact that Lux manages to escape dry intellectual chin-stroking is nearly miraculous, with complete credit belonging to the artist. While this is not her first album to alchemize the past and modern styles, its ambitions are far higher here, with the balancing act more precarious. What really elevates her fourth album, beyond its complex tunes, rich compositions, and engrained drama, proves to be a core spirit of fun. Similar to the iconic Björk during her peak, there is a wondrous quality to Rosalía's voice that pulls the listener up in its whirlwind. When she is breaking hearts in two, the listener nevertheless desire to stay right there through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
This playful energy comes forth brightly on a stunning piano-led song about a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four minutes. Then, everything drops silent, and there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo thuds in with comedic force. The track immediately shifts to the frenetic track driven by racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise role from the artist herself.
"The magic of Lux lies in you never exactly understand—or even want to know—what you is going to next."
Nearly each track concludes at a completely distinct place from how it began. A track examines the transient nature of celebrity over a delicate orchestration before collapsing in digital cacophony. Another, a song that recalls her earlier trap-infused work begins off moody and sinister, with prowling vocals, before fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to smooth the song's rough edges.
The Bridge Between Experiment & Pop
A key achievement of the album is straddling the line of radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. This is no surprise that the album has achieved her first work to break into the Top 5 of key markets: its heart contains a collection of truly catchy hits. A song sung entirely in the English language swells on a refrain that seems to collect more and more infectious hooks while it spins skyward. This trick gets repeated by another expansive track that expands and contracts, intertwining layered melodies as an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms via its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns with pop culture impact of other breakup anthems, lambasting a former partner labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the singing have a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
Lux represents popular music on a maximalist scale, an ambitious reach for high Art in an era of impending artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of sublime transcendence, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep well of buried gems that requires patience to completely explore but never seem like hard work. While other major pop albums of 2025 felt like a meager meal, Lux is a sumptuous banquet where the guests around the table, some tipsy on holy drink, flutter between discussions about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about hopeless partners. It is a contemporary theatrical production from pop's truly restlessly creative visionary.
