On the surface, this album might appear more like a difficult scholarly examination rather than a new popular music album from an artist whose last single featured a global K-pop icon. Split into 4 separate parts and sung in thirteen languages, it is a head-spinning classical-tinged opus exploring female mystery, spiritual ascent, and physical change, frequently via the lens of various saintly figures. The end of a love affair—a theme handled with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—is launched upwards here, carried by the lush sound of a major symphony orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning composer among a long roll call of collaborators. Its sheer audacity alone renders the efforts of other artists appear quite small.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That Lux manages to escape dry academic chin-stroking feels nothing short of miraculous, and sole praise going to Rosalía. Although this is not her first album to blend historical sounds with the present, its scale feel far greater here, with the tightrope walk more dramatic. What really raises her fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, dense arrangements, and inherent drama, is a core sense of playfulness. Similar to the iconic artist during her peak, you find a captivating sense to the vocalist's voice that pulls the listener into its whirlwind. When she's breaking hearts apart, you still want to be right there for the ride.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
This playful energy shines clearly during the stunning piano-led song about a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy over several minutes. Then, everything drops away, to reveal there's a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated string surge crashes in like cartoonish force. The track then segues to the wild track driven by racing orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a surprise appearance from none other than Björk.
"The charm of this album is that the listener never quite know—or even wish to predict—where you will go to next."
Nearly each song ends at a completely different point from where it began. A track explores the transient nature of fame with a delicate orchestration before disintegrating in digital cacophony. Another, a cut echoing the artist's previous trap-infused work starts off moody and sinister, featuring prowling beats, before sudden flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir enter to soften its jagged edges.
The Bridge Of Art and Accessibility
A key achievement on the album involves straddling the gap of radical experimentation and broad appeal. It is no coincidence that it has achieved her highest-charting work to break into the Top 5 of major charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy pop songs. One track performed primarily in English builds around a chorus that seems to collect increasingly nagging melodies as it spirals upward. This feat gets echoed on another expansive ballad that expands and contracts, weaving layered tunes as a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like number seduces with its jaunty, theatrical drama and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it shares the pop culture impact of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting a former lover labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the singing have a sharp edge, like a storybook character hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a maximalist scale, an ambitious grasp for high Art in an era of impending artificial blankness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its built-in ridiculousness. This is an abundant source of buried gems that requires patience to fully mine but never seem like hard work. Where some big releases of the year felt like feasting on meal, Lux offers a sumptuous feast where the characters at it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred wine, flit between discussions about ancient saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common stories about useless men. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from pop's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
