Initially, this album might appear closer to an arduous university quiz than a new pop album from an artist whose last single was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Broken across four separate parts and performed in 13 languages, this is a head-spinning symphonic opus that delves into feminine mystique, spiritual transcendence, and corporal change, frequently by way of the perspective of various female saints. The end of a love affair—a theme handled with raw honesty elsewhere—is shot upwards here, supported by the lush presence of a full orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning composer within an extensive list of collaborators. Its sheer daring alone makes the work of other artists seem quite laughable.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
That this album manages to avoid overly academic chin-stroking is almost a miracle, with sole praise belonging to the artist. Although it's not her first project to fuse historical sounds with the present, its stakes are much higher on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more dramatic. What truly elevates this fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, dense arrangements, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential sense of playfulness. Much like the iconic Björk at her peak, there is a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener up in its whirlwind. When she is tearing your heart apart, you nevertheless want to be right there for the journey.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
This exuberant energy shines brightly on a stunning piano-led song inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over more than four moments. Then, all the music falls silent, and there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a comment prior to a comically over-the-top orchestral surge crashes down with cartoonish impact. The track immediately segues into the wild track featuring racing strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The charm with this album lies in the listener never quite know—nor want to predict—what it will go to next."
Nearly each track ends in a completely different point than how it started. One moment explores the fleeting trappings of celebrity over a featherlight symphony before collapsing in electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing her previous rhythmic style starts out dark and brooding, with menacing beats, until fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to soften the song's rough edges.
The Balance Between Experiment & Accessibility
A key achievement of the album is straddling the line of bold experimentation and mainstream accessibility. It is no surprise that the album has become her highest-charting work to crack the Top 5 of major charts: at its core a suite of utterly undeniable hits. A song sung entirely in English swells around a chorus that seems to collect more and more nagging hooks as it spirals upward. That feat gets repeated on another expansive ballad that grows and contracts, weaving multiple melodies as a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like song charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it aligns the pop culture honesty of contemporary heartbreak songs, lambasting a former lover labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the singing carry a sharp smile, like a storybook figure hiding a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
This album is popular music on a grand level, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry amid of impending AI-generated sameness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious transcendence, crafting a dramatic spectacle that masterfully manages its inherent excess. It is an abundant source of buried treasure that requires time to fully mine but never seem like hard work. Where other major releases of 2025 seemed like a meager meal, Lux offers a sumptuous feast at which the guests at the table, perhaps tipsy on holy wine, flutter from discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about hopeless men. It is a contemporary musical from music's truly endlessly inventive practitioner.
