On the surface, Lux could seem more like a difficult academic quiz rather than the latest popular music project by a musician who just had a last hit featured a global K-pop icon. Divided into 4 separate sections and sung in 13 tongues, it is a breathtaking classical-tinged opus investigating feminine mystique, religious transcendence, and bodily change, often via the lens of various saintly figures. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme handled with grounded openness elsewhere—soars skyward here, buoyed by the constant presence of a major orchestra and work from an award-winning composer within a long roll call of collaborators. The pure daring alone makes the work of contemporary pop stars seem quite modest.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
That this album succeeds in transcend overly intellectual posturing is nothing short of miraculous, with full credit belonging to the artist. While it's not the first time project to blend the past and the present, the scale are far greater here, with the balancing act far more pronounced. What really elevates her fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of joy. Much like the legendary Björk at her peak, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. Even when she is breaking hearts apart, you nevertheless want to stay alongside her for the ride.
A Signature Example of Joy
This playful energy shines brightly on the stunning Italian song inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops silent, and we hear a spontaneous laugh and a declaration prior to a comically over-the-top string crescendo thuds down like comedic force. The track then shifts into the frenetic single driven by galloping orchestration, a powerful choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist Björk.
"The charm of this album lies in you rarely exactly know—or even want to predict—where it will go to next."
Nearly each song ends in a completely distinct point than how it started. One moment explores the fleeting trappings of fame over a delicate orchestration only to collapsing into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing her previous trap-infused work begins off dark and sinister, with menacing vocals, before sudden traditional rhythms and a heavenly choir enter to smooth its jagged edges.
The Balance Between Experiment and Accessibility
Another crucial achievement of Lux involves straddling the gap between bold experimentation and broad accessibility. This is little coincidence that it has become the artist's first release to break into the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable pop songs. One track sung entirely in the English language swells around a refrain that feels to collect more and more infectious hooks while it spins upward. That trick is repeated on a different powerful track that expands and contracts, weaving layered melodies like a complex weave.
- A waltz-like song charms via its playful, theatrical drama and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the pop culture impact of contemporary breakup songs, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout the album, the vocals have a sharp edge, like a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
This album is pop on a maximalist scale, an ambitious reach for high artistry in an era of looming artificial blankness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of glorious transcendence, creating a dramatic spectacle that skillfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. This is an abundant source of hidden gems that requires patience to completely mine but doesn't seem like hard work. While other big releases of 2025 seemed like feasting on scraps, Lux is a sumptuous banquet where the guests at it, perhaps tipsy on holy wine, flutter between conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and shared stories about hopeless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly endlessly creative practitioner.
