Initially, this album might appear closer to a difficult scholarly quiz rather than a new popular music record by a musician who just had a last hit was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Broken across four distinct parts and performed in thirteen tongues, this is a head-spinning orchestral-influenced opus investigating female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and bodily change, often through the prism of various women saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic treated with raw openness elsewhere—soars upwards on this record, buoyed by the constant presence of a full symphony orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a long list of contributors. The pure audacity by itself makes the work of other pop stars look quite small.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
That this album succeeds in avoid overly intellectual chin-stroking feels almost a miracle, and sole praise going to Rosalía. Although this is not her first album to fuse the past with modern styles, the ambitions feel far greater on Lux, and the tightrope walk far more dramatic. What really elevates this fourth release, beyond its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and inherent theatricality, is an essential sense of fun. Similar to the iconic artist during her height, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener up in its tornado. When she is tearing hearts in two, the listener nevertheless desire to stay alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
That playful energy comes forth brightly on a stunning piano-led song inspired by a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool over more than four moments. Suddenly, all the music drops silent, to reveal we hear a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration before a comically exaggerated string surge thuds down with cartoonish force. The song immediately shifts to the wild single driven by galloping strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from the artist Björk.
"The charm with this album is that the listener never quite understand—or even wish to know—where you is going to next."
Almost every song concludes in a completely different place than how it started. A track examines the transient nature of fame over a featherlight symphony before collapsing into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a song echoing the artist's earlier rhythmic style starts out dark and sinister, featuring prowling beats, until sudden traditional rhythms and an angelic choir arrive to smooth the song's rough corners.
The Bridge Between Art and Pop
Another crucial achievement on Lux is straddling the line of bold experimentation and broad accessibility. This is no coincidence that the album has achieved her first release to crack the upper reaches of major charts: at its core a collection of truly catchy pop songs. One track performed entirely in English swells around a chorus that feels to gather increasingly infectious melodies while it spirals skyward. That trick gets repeated on a different powerful ballad that grows and constricts, weaving layered melodies as an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like song seduces via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture impact of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting a former lover labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across the album, the singing carry a sharp edge, akin to a storybook character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
Lux is popular music on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for high Art amid of looming artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime elevation, crafting a dramatic spectacle that masterfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. This is a deep well of buried treasure that requires time to fully explore but doesn't seem like a chore. While some major releases of 2025 seemed like feasting on scraps, Lux is a sumptuous feast where the characters at the table, some tipsy on sacred wine, flit between discussions about ancient saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared gossip about hopeless men. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from pop's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
