At first glance, this work might appear more like an arduous university challenge than a new popular music project from an artist who just had a last single was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Broken across 4 distinct parts and voiced in thirteen tongues, this is a dizzying orchestral-influenced work exploring feminine mystery, religious transcendence, and corporal transformation, often through the lens of different female saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme handled with raw honesty elsewhere—is launched heavenward here, supported by the constant presence of a full symphony orchestra and contributions from an award-winning songwriter among a long list of contributors. The pure audacity alone renders the work of other artists seem quite laughable.
Transcending Academic Exercise
That Lux succeeds in transcend overly academic chin-stroking feels nothing short of miraculous, with complete credit going to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time album to blend the past and modern styles, the ambitions feel far greater here, and the balancing act more pronounced. The element that really elevates this fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, dense compositions, and inherent theatricality, is a core spirit of joy. Much like the iconic artist during her peak, there is a captivating quality to the vocalist's singing that pulls you into its whirlwind. Even when she is tearing your heart in two, the listener nevertheless want to stay alongside her for the ride.
A Signature Moment of Joy
This playful energy comes forth clearly during the stunning piano-led ballad inspired by a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over more than four minutes. Then, everything falls away, and there's a gleeful giggle followed by a comment prior to a comically exaggerated string crescendo thuds in like cartoonish impact. The track then segues into the wild single featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The charm of Lux lies in the listener rarely exactly understand—nor wish to know—where you is going next."
Nearly every song concludes in a completely different point than where it began. A track explores the fleeting nature of fame over a featherlight orchestration only to collapsing in electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a song echoing her earlier rhythmic work starts out dark and sinister, featuring menacing vocals, before sudden traditional rhythms and an angelic choir enter to soften the song's rough corners.
The Bridge Between Art and Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act on Lux is navigating the line between radical innovation and mainstream accessibility. It is little surprise that the album has become the artist's first work to break into the Top 5 of key charts: at its core a suite of truly undeniable pop songs. One track performed entirely in English builds around a chorus that seems to collect more and more infectious hooks as it spins upward. This trick gets echoed on a different powerful ballad that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies as an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms via its playful, theatrical flair and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the pop culture impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing carry a sharp edge, akin to a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
Lux is popular music on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of looming artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully controls its built-in excess. This is an abundant well of hidden treasure that requires patience to fully mine but never feels like hard work. While some big pop albums of 2025 felt like a meager meal, Lux offers a sumptuous banquet where the guests at the table, some intoxicated on sacred wine, flutter from discussions about historical figures, the profound feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and common stories about hopeless men. It is a contemporary musical from music's truly restlessly inventive visionary.
