On the surface, this work could seem closer to a challenging scholarly quiz than a new popular music album by a musician who just had a previous hit featured a global K-pop icon. Divided across 4 separate sections and sung in thirteen languages, this is a head-spinning orchestral-influenced work that delves into female mystery, religious ascent, and bodily transformation, frequently through the lens of various women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme handled with raw honesty elsewhere—is launched heavenward here, buoyed by the constant sound of a full orchestra and work from an award-winning composer among a vast list of contributors. The pure audacity alone renders the efforts of contemporary pop stars look quite small.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that this album manages to avoid dry intellectual chin-stroking is nearly a miracle, and sole praise belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time album to fuse historical sounds with modern styles, its ambitions are far greater here, with the balancing act more precarious. The element that really raises this fourth release, outside of its complex tunes, rich compositions, and engrained theatricality, is a core sense of fun. Similar to the legendary artist at her height, you find a wondrous quality to Rosalía's voice which sweeps you up in its whirlwind. Even when she's breaking your heart in two, you still desire to stay right there for the ride.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
That playful spirit shines brightly on a stirring Italian ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool over several moments. Suddenly, everything falls away, and there's a spontaneous laugh followed by a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated orchestral surge crashes down like cartoonish force. The song then shifts into the frenetic track featuring galloping strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The charm with Lux lies in the listener never quite know—or even wish to predict—what you is going next."
Nearly each track ends at a completely distinct place than how it began. A track explores the fleeting trappings of celebrity with a delicate orchestration only to collapsing into electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing her earlier rhythmic work begins off dark and sinister, featuring prowling vocals, before fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly choir enter to soften the song's jagged edges.
The Bridge Of Experiment & Pop
A key achievement of the album is navigating the line of radical experimentation and mainstream accessibility. This is little surprise that the album has become the artist's first release to crack the Top 5 of key charts: at its core a suite of utterly catchy pop songs. One track performed entirely in the English language swells around a refrain that feels to gather increasingly nagging melodies while it spirals skyward. That trick is echoed by a different expansive track that expands and constricts, weaving multiple melodies like an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused number charms via its jaunty, theatrical drama and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns with cultural honesty of contemporary breakup songs, eviscerating an ex- lover described as an "psychological bully".
- Throughout the album, the singing carry a sharp edge, akin to a fairy-tale figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a grand level, an ambitious grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It rejects self-absorption for sublime transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its inherent ridiculousness. It is a deep well of hidden gems that takes time to completely explore but never seem like hard work. While some major releases of 2025 felt like a meager scraps, this record is a sumptuous feast at which the characters around it, some intoxicated on holy wine, flutter from discussions about ancient figures, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's most restlessly creative visionary.
