At first glance, this album might appear more like a challenging scholarly examination than a new pop record from a musician whose previous hit featured an international K-pop icon. Broken into 4 different movements and sung in 13 languages, it is a dizzying classical-tinged opus exploring female mystery, religious transcendence, and corporal change, frequently through the lens of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic handled with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—is shot upwards here, supported by the constant sound of a full orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within an extensive list of contributors. The pure daring alone renders the efforts of other pop stars look quite small.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
That this album manages to avoid dry intellectual chin-stroking is almost miraculous, with sole praise going to the artist. Although it's not the first time album to blend historical sounds and modern styles, its stakes feel far higher here, and the balancing act far more precarious. What truly raises her fourth release, beyond its multilayered melodies, dense arrangements, and engrained drama, is an essential spirit of fun. Similar to the legendary artist during her peak, there is a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps you up in its whirlwind. When she is tearing hearts apart, you nevertheless desire to be alongside her for the journey.
A Signature Example of Exuberance
This playful spirit shines brightly on the stirring piano-led song about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy for more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls away, and there's a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated string surge thuds down like comedic impact. The track then shifts into the wild single featuring galloping orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a cameo appearance from the artist Björk.
"The charm with this album is that the listener never exactly understand—nor want to predict—what it will go to next."
Nearly every track concludes in a completely distinct place than where it began. One moment examines the fleeting nature of fame with a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused work starts off dark and sinister, with prowling beats, until fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir enter to smooth its jagged edges.
The Balance Between Art and Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act on the album involves straddling the line of radical innovation and broad accessibility. This is little surprise that the album has become the artist's highest-charting work to crack the Top 5 of major markets: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable hits. A song sung entirely in English swells around a refrain that seems to gather increasingly nagging melodies while it spins skyward. This trick is echoed on another powerful ballad that expands and constricts, weaving layered melodies like an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it shares with cultural honesty of other heartbreak songs, lambasting a former partner described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the vocals have a painted-on smile, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
Lux is pop on a grand scale, a hungry reach for capital-A Art amid of impending AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism in favor of sublime transcendence, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its own built-in ridiculousness. This is an abundant well of hidden gems that requires time to fully mine but never feels like a chore. While some major releases of the year felt like feasting on meal, this record is a sumptuous banquet at which the characters at the table, some intoxicated on sacred drink, flit from discussions about ancient saints, the profound feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and shared gossip about useless partners. It is a contemporary theatrical production from pop's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
