At first glance, Lux may look more like a difficult academic examination than a new pop project from a musician who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Broken across four different sections and voiced in 13 languages, we have a dizzying classical-tinged album investigating feminine mystique, religious transcendence, and bodily change, often via the perspective of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme handled with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—soars skyward here, carried by the constant presence of a major symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter among a vast roll call of collaborators. The pure ambition alone renders the efforts of other pop stars seem quite small.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to escape dry academic chin-stroking is nearly a miracle, with full credit belonging to Rosalía. Although this is not the first time album to alchemize historical sounds and modern styles, its scale are much higher on Lux, and the balancing act more dramatic. The element that truly elevates her fourth album, beyond its multilayered melodies, rich compositions, and engrained drama, is an essential spirit of joy. Similar to the iconic artist at her peak, you find a wondrous sense to the vocalist's singing that pulls the listener up in its whirlwind. Even when she's breaking your heart in two, you nevertheless desire to be alongside her through the journey.
A Signature Moment of Joy
This exuberant spirit comes forth brightly during the stunning Italian ballad inspired by a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over more than four minutes. Then, everything falls away, and we hear a spontaneous giggle and a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated orchestral crescendo thuds in like cartoonish force. The track then shifts to the wild single featuring racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than herself.
"The magic of this album is that you rarely exactly know—nor want to predict—what you will go to next."
Almost each song finishes in a totally different place from how it started. A track explores the fleeting trappings of fame over a delicate symphony before disintegrating into digital cacophony. Another, a cut echoing her previous rhythmic style starts off moody and brooding, with menacing beats, before fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to smooth its jagged corners.
The Bridge Between Art & Pop
Another crucial balancing act of Lux involves navigating the gap between bold innovation and broad accessibility. This is no coincidence that the album has achieved her first work to break into the Top 5 of major markets: at its core a collection of truly catchy hits. A song performed entirely in the English language builds on a refrain that feels to gather more and more nagging melodies as it spins skyward. This feat is echoed by a different powerful track that grows and constricts, weaving multiple melodies as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its playful, theatrical flair and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares with pop culture impact of other breakup songs, lambasting an ex- partner described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Across the album, the singing have a painted-on smile, like a fairy-tale character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You've the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
This album represents pop on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for high artistry in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It rejects solipsism in favor of sublime transcendence, crafting a dramatic spectacle that masterfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. This is an abundant source of hidden treasure that requires time to fully mine but never feels like hard work. While other major pop albums of the year felt like a meager meal, this record offers a lavish feast at which the guests at the table, perhaps intoxicated on sacred wine, flutter from discussions about ancient saints, the profound sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and shared gossip about useless partners. It is a contemporary musical from pop's truly restlessly creative practitioner.
