On the surface, this work could seem more like an arduous scholarly quiz than the latest pop record by an artist who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Divided into four distinct sections and voiced in 13 languages, it is a dizzying orchestral-influenced album exploring feminine mystery, religious ascent, and bodily transformation, often through the prism of various women saints. The dissolution of a romance—a theme handled with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—is shot skyward here, buoyed by the constant presence of a major symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning composer within a long roll call of collaborators. The pure audacity alone renders the work of contemporary artists seem quite small.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to escape dry academic posturing is nearly a miracle, and full praise belonging to the artist. While this is not the first time album to blend historical sounds with modern styles, the scale feel much greater here, with the balancing act more precarious. The element that truly raises her fourth release, beyond its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is a core sense of joy. Similar to the legendary Björk during her peak, you find a captivating sense to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. Even when she's tearing hearts apart, the listener nevertheless desire to be alongside her for the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
This exuberant spirit shines brightly on a stirring Italian ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy for several moments. Then, all the music drops silent, to reveal we hear a gleeful giggle and a declaration before a comically exaggerated orchestral surge crashes down like comedic force. The song then shifts to the wild track featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than herself.
"The charm with Lux is that you rarely exactly know—or even wish to predict—what it is going next."
Almost each track ends at a completely different point from how it started. One moment explores the fleeting trappings of fame over a delicate symphony before collapsing into electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's earlier rhythmic style starts out dark and brooding, with menacing beats, before sudden traditional rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to soften its jagged edges.
The Bridge Between Experiment and Accessibility
A key balancing act on the album involves straddling the line of bold innovation and mainstream appeal. This is no coincidence that the album has become the artist's first release to crack the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a suite of utterly catchy hits. One track sung primarily in English builds on a refrain that feels to gather more and more nagging melodies while it spins skyward. This feat is repeated on another expansive track that grows and constricts, weaving multiple tunes like a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it shares with cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, lambasting an ex- partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout the album, the singing have a sharp smile, like a storybook figure hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
This album is popular music on a maximalist level, an ambitious reach for high Art amid of looming artificial sameness. It eschews solipsism for sublime elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its own built-in excess. This is a deep well of buried gems that requires time to fully explore but doesn't feels like hard work. Where other major pop albums of 2025 felt like feasting on meal, Lux is a lavish banquet at which the guests at the table, some intoxicated on sacred wine, flit between discussions about ancient saints, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common stories about hopeless men. It is a modern-day musical from pop's most endlessly creative visionary.
