On the surface, this work might appear closer to an arduous university quiz than the latest pop record from an artist who just had a previous hit featured an international pop icon. Broken into four distinct movements and performed in thirteen languages, we have a dizzying symphonic opus investigating female mystique, religious ascent, and physical transformation, frequently through the perspective of various women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a topic handled with raw honesty elsewhere—is shot heavenward on this record, carried by the constant presence of a full symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter within an extensive list of contributors. Its sheer daring alone makes the efforts of other pop stars appear rather laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
The fact that this album manages to escape dry academic chin-stroking feels nearly miraculous, and complete praise going to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time project to fuse historical sounds and the present, the stakes feel far higher here, and the tightrope walk far more precarious. The element that truly elevates her fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and inherent drama, proves to be an essential spirit of fun. Similar to the legendary artist at her height, there is a captivating quality to the vocalist's singing that pulls you into its whirlwind. When she's breaking your heart in two, the listener nevertheless desire to stay right there for the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
That playful spirit comes forth brightly during a stirring piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for more than four minutes. Suddenly, everything drops away, and there's a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration prior to a hilariously over-the-top orchestral surge thuds in like cartoonish impact. The song then segues to the frenetic track featuring galloping strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from none other than herself.
"The charm with Lux is that the listener never quite understand—or even want to know—where you will go next."
Almost every track concludes in a completely distinct place from how it began. A track explores the transient trappings of celebrity over a delicate orchestration only to disintegrating in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused work begins off dark and sinister, featuring prowling beats, before sudden traditional rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to smooth the song's jagged corners.
The Balance Of Experiment and Pop
A key achievement on the album is navigating the line of radical innovation and broad appeal. It is no surprise that it has become the artist's first release to break into the Top 5 of key charts: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable pop songs. A song sung entirely in the English language swells around a refrain that feels to gather increasingly nagging melodies while it spirals upward. That trick gets echoed by another powerful ballad that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies like a complex weave.
- A waltz-like song seduces via its playful, theatrical flair and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it aligns with cultural impact of other heartbreak anthems, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing carry a painted-on smile, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
Lux is popular music on a maximalist scale, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming artificial sameness. It eschews solipsism in favor of glorious elevation, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully controls its inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant well of buried treasure that takes time to fully mine but doesn't feels like a chore. Where other major releases of 2025 felt like feasting on scraps, this record offers a sumptuous banquet where the guests around the table, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flutter from conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common gossip about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from music's truly endlessly inventive visionary.
