Initially, Lux could seem more like a challenging scholarly examination than the latest pop project from an artist who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop star. Divided into four separate parts and voiced in thirteen tongues, we have a dizzying symphonic work that delves into feminine mystery, spiritual transcendence, and physical change, frequently via the prism of various women saints. The end of a relationship—a theme handled with raw openness on another major 2025 album—soars skyward on this record, supported by the constant presence of a major orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a long list of contributors. The pure audacity by itself makes the efforts of contemporary artists look rather laughable.
Transcending Academic Exercise
That this album manages to avoid overly intellectual chin-stroking feels almost miraculous, with sole credit belonging to the artist. While it's not her first project to blend historical sounds with modern styles, the stakes feel much greater on Lux, and the balancing act more pronounced. What truly elevates her fourth release, outside of its complex tunes, dense compositions, and inherent theatricality, is a core spirit of joy. Similar to the iconic artist during her peak, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps you up in its tornado. When she's breaking your heart apart, you still desire to be alongside her for the journey.
A Prime Moment of Joy
That playful energy shines brightly during the stirring piano-led song inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over several minutes. Then, everything drops away, and there's a spontaneous laugh and a declaration before a comically exaggerated orchestral surge thuds in like cartoonish impact. The song immediately segues into the frenetic single driven by galloping orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The magic of this album lies in the listener never quite know—or even want to predict—what you will go to next."
Nearly every track ends at a totally different point from how it started. One moment explores the transient nature of fame over a delicate orchestration before collapsing in digital chaos. Another, a cut that recalls her previous rhythmic style starts out dark and sinister, featuring menacing beats, until fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly chorus enter to smooth its jagged edges.
The Balance Between Art and Accessibility
A key achievement of the album is straddling the gap of radical experimentation and mainstream accessibility. It is no surprise that the album has achieved the artist's first work to crack the upper reaches of key markets: at its core a collection of truly catchy pop songs. One track sung primarily in the English language swells on a chorus that seems to gather more and more nagging hooks while it spins skyward. That trick is repeated by a different powerful ballad that expands and contracts, weaving layered melodies like a complex weave.
- A waltz-like song charms via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it shares the cultural honesty of other heartbreak anthems, eviscerating an ex- lover labeled an "psychological bully".
- Throughout the album, the singing have a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook figure concealing a knife: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
This album represents pop on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for high Art in an era of impending artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully controls its inherent excess. It is a deep well of buried gems that requires patience to completely explore but doesn't feels like a chore. Where some major pop albums of the year felt like a meager scraps, Lux is a lavish feast where the characters at it, some intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter from conversations about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about hopeless men. It is a modern-day musical from music's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
