At first glance, Lux might appear more like a difficult scholarly challenge rather than the latest pop project from a musician who just had a last single was a collaboration with an international pop star. Broken into four different sections and sung in thirteen tongues, we have a head-spinning classical-tinged album that delves into female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and physical change, frequently via the lens of different female saints. The end of a love affair—a topic treated with raw openness on another major 2025 album—is launched skyward here, supported by the lush sound of a major symphony orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning composer within a vast list of collaborators. The pure ambition by itself makes the work of other pop stars look rather small.
Transcending Academic Pretense
The fact that Lux manages to escape overly academic chin-stroking is nothing short of a miracle, and full praise going to Rosalía. While this is not the first time album to fuse the past with the present, the scale feel much greater on Lux, and the balancing act more pronounced. The element that truly elevates her fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, proves to be a core sense of fun. Much like the legendary artist during her height, there is a wondrous quality to Rosalía's voice which sweeps you into its tornado. When she is breaking your heart apart, you nevertheless desire to be alongside her for the ride.
A Signature Moment of Joy
This playful spirit shines clearly on a stirring piano-led song about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy for more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops away, to reveal we hear a gleeful laugh and a comment before a hilariously over-the-top orchestral surge crashes in with comedic force. The track immediately segues to the frenetic single featuring galloping strings, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist herself.
"The charm with this album is that you never quite understand—or even wish to know—what it is going to next."
Almost every song finishes at a completely different point from where it started. A track examines the fleeting trappings of fame over a delicate orchestration only to disintegrating into digital cacophony. Another, a song echoing the artist's earlier rhythmic work starts off moody and brooding, featuring menacing vocals, until fluttering traditional rhythms and an angelic chorus arrive to soften its rough corners.
The Bridge Between Experiment & Accessibility
A key achievement on the album is straddling the gap of radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. It is no coincidence that the album has achieved the artist's first work to break into the upper reaches of key markets: at its core a collection of truly undeniable hits. One track performed primarily in the English language builds around a chorus that seems to collect increasingly infectious hooks as it spins skyward. That trick gets echoed on another powerful track that expands and contracts, weaving multiple melodies like an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused number seduces with its jaunty, theatrical flair and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it aligns the pop culture impact of other heartbreak anthems, lambasting an ex- partner labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on edge, like a fairy-tale character hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a maximalist scale, an ambitious reach for high Art in an era of impending AI-generated sameness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of sublime elevation, creating a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its own inherent excess. This is a deep source of hidden gems that requires time to completely explore but doesn't seem like hard work. While other major releases of the year felt like a meager scraps, Lux is a lavish feast at which the guests at the table, some intoxicated on sacred wine, flit between discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about hopeless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from pop's most restlessly creative practitioner.
