At first glance, this album could seem more like a difficult university challenge rather than a new popular music project from a musician who just had a last single was a collaboration with an international K-pop star. Divided into four separate sections and sung in 13 tongues, it is a breathtaking symphonic opus that delves into feminine mystery, religious ascent, and corporal change, often via the prism of various female saints. The end of a romance—a theme treated with raw openness elsewhere—is launched upwards here, carried by the constant presence of a full orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter within a long roll call of contributors. The pure ambition alone makes the efforts of contemporary artists appear rather modest.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
The fact that this album succeeds in escape dry academic posturing is almost a miracle, with sole credit belonging to the artist. Although it's not the first time album to blend the past and modern styles, its ambitions are far greater on Lux, with the tightrope walk more precarious. The element that truly elevates her fourth release, outside of its multilayered melodies, dense compositions, and inherent theatricality, is an essential sense of fun. Similar to the legendary Björk at her height, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps you into its tornado. When she's breaking your heart in two, you nevertheless want to stay right there for the journey.
A Prime Moment of Joy
That playful spirit shines clearly on a stirring piano-led song inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for several moments. Then, everything drops silent, to reveal there's a gleeful giggle followed by a comment before a hilariously over-the-top orchestral surge thuds in with cartoonish impact. The song immediately segues to the wild track driven by racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than Björk.
"The charm of Lux is that the listener rarely quite understand—nor wish to know—where it is going to next."
Almost each song finishes at a totally distinct place than where it started. A track examines the fleeting nature of fame with a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating in digital cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's earlier trap-infused style starts off dark and sinister, featuring menacing beats, until fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to smooth the song's rough edges.
The Bridge Between Art and Pop
A key achievement of the album is straddling the gap of radical innovation and broad appeal. It is no coincidence that the album has achieved the artist's highest-charting release to crack the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy hits. A song sung entirely in the English language builds on a chorus that feels to gather more and more infectious melodies as it spins upward. That feat is echoed by another powerful ballad that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple tunes as a complex weave.
- A waltz-like song charms with its playful, theatrical flair and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares with cultural honesty of other breakup anthems, eviscerating an ex- lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook character concealing a knife: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Soul
This album represents popular music on a grand level, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art amid of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism in favor of sublime transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. This is a deep source of buried treasure that takes patience to fully mine but doesn't seem like hard work. Where other big pop albums of 2025 seemed like feasting on scraps, this record is a sumptuous banquet at which the guests around it, some tipsy on holy wine, flutter from discussions about historical figures, the profound feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from pop's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
