On the surface, this album may look closer to a challenging scholarly quiz than a new pop project from an artist whose previous hit was a collaboration with a global pop star. Split into 4 distinct sections and sung in 13 languages, this is a dizzying orchestral-influenced opus that delves into feminine mystique, spiritual ascent, and bodily change, often via the perspective of different female saints. The end of a love affair—a topic handled with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot heavenward here, buoyed by the lush sound of a full orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a vast roll call of contributors. The pure daring alone makes the work of other artists appear rather small.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to escape dry academic chin-stroking is nearly a miracle, and sole praise belonging to the artist. Although it's not the first time project to fuse the past and modern styles, its ambitions are far greater here, with the balancing act more pronounced. What truly raises this fourth album, beyond its complex tunes, rich arrangements, and inherent drama, is an essential sense of fun. Much like the legendary Björk during her peak, you find a captivating sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener into its whirlwind. Even when she's breaking your heart apart, the listener still want to be alongside her for the ride.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That exuberant spirit shines clearly during the stunning Italian song inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over several minutes. Then, everything falls away, and there's a gleeful laugh and a declaration prior to a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo crashes down like cartoonish impact. The song immediately segues to the frenetic track driven by galloping orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The charm of this album lies in you rarely quite know—or even want to know—what it will go next."
Nearly every song finishes at a totally distinct place from where it began. A track examines the fleeting trappings of celebrity with a delicate symphony before collapsing in digital cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic style begins off dark and sinister, with prowling vocals, until sudden traditional handclaps and a heavenly choir enter to soften its jagged corners.
The Balance Of Experiment & Accessibility
Another crucial achievement on the album is navigating the gap between radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. It is little coincidence that it has achieved the artist's first release to break into the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a suite of utterly undeniable pop songs. One track performed primarily in English builds around a chorus that feels to collect more and more nagging melodies as it spirals skyward. That feat is echoed by another expansive ballad that grows and constricts, intertwining layered tunes like an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it aligns the cultural honesty of contemporary breakup anthems, lambasting a former lover labeled an "emotional bully".
- Throughout the album, the vocals carry a sharp edge, akin to a fairy-tale character concealing a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
Lux is popular music on a grand scale, a hungry reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming AI-generated blankness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime transcendence, crafting a dramatic spectacle that skillfully manages its own inherent excess. This is a deep well of buried gems that requires patience to fully mine but never feels like a chore. Where some major pop albums of 2025 felt like a meager scraps, this record offers a lavish feast at which the guests at it, some tipsy on holy wine, flit between conversations about ancient figures, the profound feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from music's most endlessly creative practitioner.
