🔗 Share this article

At first glance, Lux could seem more like a challenging academic examination than a new popular music album by a musician who just had a last hit featured a global K-pop star. Broken across 4 distinct sections and voiced in thirteen tongues, we have a breathtaking symphonic album investigating feminine mystique, religious ascent, and physical change, often through the perspective of different saintly figures. The end of a love affair—a topic treated with raw openness elsewhere—soars upwards here, buoyed by the constant sound of a full orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer among a vast roll call of collaborators. Its sheer daring alone makes the work of other pop stars seem rather small.

Rising Above Scholarly Pretense

The fact that Lux succeeds in transcend overly intellectual posturing is almost a miracle, with complete credit belonging to Rosalía. While this is not her first project to fuse the past and the present, the stakes are far higher on Lux, with the tightrope walk more pronounced. What truly raises this fourth release, beyond its complex tunes, dense arrangements, and inherent theatricality, is a core sense of joy. Similar to the legendary Björk at her peak, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls you into its tornado. Even when she is breaking hearts in two, you still want to stay right there through the journey.

A Signature Example of Exuberance

This exuberant energy comes forth clearly during a stunning Italian ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four moments. Suddenly, all the music falls silent, and we hear a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration prior to a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo thuds in with cartoonish force. The track immediately shifts into the frenetic track featuring racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist herself.

"The charm of this album lies in you rarely quite understand—or even wish to know—what you will go to next."

Nearly each song ends at a completely different point from how it started. A track examines the fleeting nature of fame over a featherlight symphony only to disintegrating into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused work starts out moody and sinister, with prowling vocals, before fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly chorus enter to smooth its rough edges.

The Balance Of Experiment & Accessibility

Another crucial achievement of the album involves navigating the gap between bold innovation and mainstream accessibility. This is no surprise that it has achieved the artist's first work to crack the upper reaches of key charts: at its core a suite of truly catchy hits. One track performed primarily in English builds on a chorus that feels to gather increasingly nagging melodies while it spirals skyward. This trick is repeated on a different powerful ballad that grows and constricts, weaving multiple tunes like an intricate weave.

• A dance-infused song charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
• In its words, it shares with pop culture impact of other breakup songs, eviscerating an ex- partner described as an "psychological bully".
• Throughout the album, the vocals carry a sharp smile, like a storybook character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."

An Opulent Banquet for the Ears

This album represents pop on a grand level, an ambitious reach for capital-A artistry in an era of looming artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of glorious elevation, creating a dramatic spectacle that masterfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep well of hidden treasure that takes time to fully mine but doesn't feels like hard work. While other big releases of 2025 felt like a meager meal, Lux is a sumptuous feast at which the guests around it, some tipsy on holy wine, flutter from conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and shared gossip about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's truly restlessly creative practitioner.