Initially, this work might appear more like a difficult scholarly challenge than a new popular music album from an artist whose previous hit featured an international K-pop icon. Split across four separate parts and sung in 13 languages, we have a dizzying classical-tinged opus investigating feminine mystery, religious transcendence, and corporal transformation, frequently via the perspective of various women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—is shot heavenward here, carried by the lush presence of a major symphony orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer within a vast list of collaborators. The pure audacity alone renders the work of contemporary pop stars look rather laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
That this album manages to avoid dry academic posturing feels nearly a miracle, with complete credit going to Rosalía. While this is not her first album to blend historical sounds with the present, the scale feel much greater here, with the tightrope walk far more dramatic. What truly elevates her fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of joy. Similar to the iconic artist at her height, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener up in its whirlwind. When she's breaking hearts apart, the listener still want to be right there through the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
That playful spirit shines brightly during a stirring Italian ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four moments. Then, all the music falls silent, to reveal there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a declaration before a hilariously over-the-top orchestral surge thuds down with cartoonish force. The track immediately segues to the wild track featuring racing strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo appearance from the artist herself.
"The charm of Lux lies in the listener rarely exactly understand—nor wish to know—where you will go to next."
Almost each song concludes at a totally different point than where it started. One moment examines the fleeting nature of fame with a delicate symphony only to disintegrating in electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her previous trap-infused work begins off moody and sinister, featuring prowling beats, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and a heavenly choir enter to soften its rough corners.
The Bridge Between Art and Pop
Another crucial achievement on the album involves straddling the gap between bold experimentation and mainstream appeal. This is no surprise that it has achieved her highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of key markets: its heart contains a suite of truly catchy pop songs. One track performed entirely in the English language builds on a refrain that seems to collect more and more infectious hooks as it spins upward. This trick gets repeated on another powerful ballad that expands and constricts, weaving layered tunes like an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like number seduces via its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns the pop culture honesty of other breakup anthems, eviscerating a former partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing have a sharp smile, akin to a storybook character concealing a knife: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of looming artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic spectacle that masterfully manages its own inherent excess. It is an abundant source of hidden treasure that requires patience to fully mine but never feels like a chore. While some big releases of the year seemed like feasting on meal, Lux offers a sumptuous banquet at which the characters around the table, some tipsy on sacred wine, flutter between conversations about historical figures, the profound feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and common stories about useless partners. It is a contemporary musical from music's truly endlessly creative visionary.
