At first glance, this album could seem more like an arduous academic challenge rather than a new pop album from a musician who just had a previous single featured an international K-pop icon. Broken into four separate movements and performed in thirteen tongues, it is a breathtaking classical-tinged opus that delves into feminine mystique, religious ascent, and bodily change, often through the prism of different women saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme handled with raw openness on another major 2025 album—is shot heavenward on this record, supported by the lush presence of a major symphony orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer among an extensive roll call of contributors. Its sheer audacity by itself makes the efforts of contemporary artists appear rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
The fact that this album manages to transcend overly academic chin-stroking is almost miraculous, and full praise going to Rosalía. While it's not her first album to blend historical sounds and the present, the scale feel much higher on Lux, with the tightrope walk more dramatic. What really elevates this fourth release, beyond its multilayered tunes, dense compositions, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential spirit of fun. Similar to the legendary Björk at her peak, there is a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener up in its whirlwind. Even when she is breaking your heart in two, the listener nevertheless want to be alongside her for the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
This playful energy shines clearly on a stunning Italian song about a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four moments. Then, everything falls silent, and we hear a gleeful laugh and a comment before a comically over-the-top orchestral surge crashes down like comedic force. The song immediately segues into the wild track featuring galloping orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from none other than herself.
"The charm of this album lies in the listener never quite know—nor want to predict—what it will go to next."
Nearly every song finishes at a completely distinct place than where it started. A track examines the transient trappings of celebrity over a delicate orchestration only to collapsing into electronic cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls her earlier trap-infused style starts out moody and brooding, featuring prowling beats, before sudden traditional handclaps and a heavenly choir enter to soften its rough corners.
The Balance Between Art & Accessibility
A key achievement on the album is navigating the line of bold innovation and mainstream appeal. It is little surprise that it has achieved her highest-charting release to crack the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable pop songs. A song sung primarily in English swells around a chorus that seems to gather more and more nagging melodies as it spirals skyward. That trick is repeated on another expansive ballad that grows and constricts, intertwining multiple melodies as a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it aligns with pop culture honesty of other breakup songs, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing carry a painted-on smile, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a maximalist scale, an ambitious grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of impending artificial sameness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of glorious elevation, creating an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully controls its own built-in ridiculousness. This is an abundant well of buried treasure that takes time to fully mine but doesn't seem like hard work. Where other major releases of the year felt like a meager meal, Lux offers a sumptuous feast where the characters at the table, perhaps tipsy on sacred wine, flit between conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common gossip about useless men. It is a contemporary musical from music's most restlessly creative visionary.
