On the surface, this work could seem more like an arduous academic challenge than a new popular music album by a musician who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with a global pop star. Broken into 4 separate sections and performed in thirteen tongues, we have a dizzying orchestral-influenced opus exploring female mystery, religious transcendence, and corporal change, often by way of the lens of various women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a topic treated with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—soars skyward on this record, supported by the constant presence of a major orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter within a vast roll call of collaborators. Its sheer ambition by itself makes the efforts of contemporary artists seem rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that this album manages to escape dry academic posturing is nothing short of miraculous, and full credit belonging to the artist. Although it's not the first time album to alchemize historical sounds with modern styles, the ambitions are far higher on Lux, and the tightrope walk more pronounced. What really elevates this fourth release, beyond its complex tunes, rich compositions, and inherent theatricality, is an essential spirit of fun. Similar to the iconic artist at her height, you find a captivating sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls you up in its tornado. When she is tearing your heart in two, you still desire to be alongside her through the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
This exuberant energy shines clearly during a stirring Italian ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy over several moments. Suddenly, all the music drops silent, and we hear a spontaneous giggle followed by a declaration before a comically over-the-top orchestral crescendo thuds in with cartoonish impact. The song immediately segues into the frenetic single featuring racing strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo appearance from the artist herself.
"The magic of this album is that the listener never exactly understand—nor want to know—where it will go to next."
Nearly each song concludes in a totally distinct point from how it began. A track explores the transient trappings of fame with a featherlight symphony before disintegrating in digital chaos. Another, a song that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic style starts out dark and sinister, featuring menacing beats, until sudden flamenco handclaps and an angelic chorus enter to smooth the song's rough corners.
The Bridge Of Experiment and Accessibility
Another crucial achievement on the album is straddling the gap between radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. This is no surprise that it has become the artist's highest-charting release to break into the upper reaches of major markets: its heart contains a suite of utterly undeniable hits. One track sung entirely in English swells around a chorus that seems to collect increasingly nagging hooks while it spirals skyward. That trick is echoed by a different expansive track that grows and constricts, weaving layered melodies as a complex weave.
- A waltz-like number charms via its playful, theatrical drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it aligns the cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak anthems, lambasting an ex- partner described as an "psychological terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the vocals carry a sharp edge, like a fairy-tale figure concealing a blade: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
This album is pop on a grand scale, an ambitious grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of looming AI-generated blankness. It eschews solipsism for glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that skillfully controls its own built-in ridiculousness. This is an abundant well of hidden gems that requires time to fully explore but doesn't feels like hard work. Where some major releases of the year seemed like a meager scraps, Lux is a lavish feast at which the guests around it, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flit between conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and common stories about hopeless partners. It is a modern-day theatrical production from pop's most restlessly creative visionary.
