At first glance, Lux might appear more like a difficult university quiz rather than the latest popular music project from a musician who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop star. Split across 4 separate parts and sung in 13 tongues, it is a head-spinning symphonic work investigating feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and physical transformation, often via the prism of various saintly figures. The dissolution of a romance—a topic treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—is launched upwards here, buoyed by the constant presence of a major symphony orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning composer among a long list of collaborators. The pure daring by itself makes the work of contemporary pop stars look rather small.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
The fact that Lux succeeds in transcend overly intellectual chin-stroking feels almost a miracle, with complete praise going to the artist. While this is not her first album to alchemize the past with the present, its stakes are much higher on Lux, and the tightrope walk far more pronounced. What really elevates this fourth album, beyond its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and inherent theatricality, proves to be an essential sense of joy. Similar to the legendary Björk during her height, there is a captivating sense to Rosalía's singing which sweeps you into its whirlwind. Even when she is breaking hearts in two, the listener nevertheless desire to be right there for the journey.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That exuberant spirit shines brightly on a stirring piano-led ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool over more than four moments. Then, all the music falls away, and we hear a spontaneous giggle and a comment before a hilariously over-the-top orchestral crescendo crashes down with cartoonish force. The track immediately segues into the wild single featuring racing strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo role from the artist Björk.
"The charm of this album is that you never quite know—nor want to know—what you will go next."
Nearly every song concludes in a totally different place from how it started. One moment explores the transient nature of fame with a delicate orchestration before disintegrating in digital chaos. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's previous rhythmic work begins off moody and sinister, with menacing beats, until fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to smooth its rough edges.
The Balance Between Art & Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act on Lux involves navigating the line of radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. This is little coincidence that it has become her first release to break into the Top 5 of key markets: its heart contains a suite of truly catchy pop songs. One track sung primarily in the English language builds on a chorus that seems to collect increasingly nagging melodies as it spins upward. That trick is echoed on a different powerful track that expands and constricts, intertwining layered melodies like an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused song charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares the cultural honesty of other breakup songs, lambasting an ex- partner labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across the album, the vocals carry a sharp smile, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've the podium of letdown."
An Opulent 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 rejects solipsism for glorious transcendence, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its built-in excess. It is an abundant well of hidden gems that requires time to fully explore but doesn't feels like hard work. While some major releases of 2025 felt like a meager scraps, Lux is a lavish banquet at which the guests at the table, some tipsy on sacred wine, flutter between conversations about ancient saints, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's truly endlessly inventive practitioner.
