At first glance, this album could seem more like an arduous academic quiz rather than the latest popular music project from a musician whose previous hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop star. Broken across 4 different parts and voiced in 13 languages, we have a breathtaking symphonic album investigating feminine mystery, religious transcendence, and corporal change, often through the perspective of various saintly figures. The end of a romance—a theme handled with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—is shot heavenward on this record, carried by the constant sound of a full symphony orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a long roll call of contributors. The pure ambition alone makes the efforts of other artists seem quite modest.
Transcending Academic Pretense
That Lux manages to transcend dry academic chin-stroking feels almost a miracle, and full praise going to Rosalía. Although it's not her first project to alchemize historical sounds and modern styles, its ambitions are much higher here, with the balancing act more dramatic. What really elevates this fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, rich arrangements, and inherent drama, proves to be an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the legendary artist at her peak, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls the listener into its tornado. Even when she's breaking your heart apart, the listener nevertheless desire to stay alongside her for the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
This playful spirit comes forth clearly during the stirring Italian ballad about a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy for several moments. Suddenly, everything falls away, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh followed by a declaration before a hilariously over-the-top orchestral surge crashes down with cartoonish force. The track immediately shifts into the frenetic single driven by racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo appearance from the artist herself.
"The charm with Lux is that the listener never exactly understand—or even wish to know—where you will go to next."
Nearly each track finishes at a totally different place from how it started. A track explores the transient trappings of celebrity over a delicate orchestration only to collapsing in electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls her previous rhythmic work begins off moody and sinister, featuring prowling beats, before fluttering traditional rhythms and an angelic chorus enter to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Balance Between Art and Accessibility
Another crucial achievement on the album is navigating the gap of radical innovation and broad accessibility. It is no coincidence that it has become her first work to crack the Top 5 of major charts: at its core a collection of utterly catchy pop songs. A song performed entirely in English swells around a refrain that feels to collect more and more infectious melodies as it spirals upward. That feat is echoed by a different powerful ballad that grows and contracts, intertwining layered melodies like a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms with its playful, theatrical flair and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, lambasting a former partner labeled an "psychological bully".
- Across the album, the singing carry a sharp edge, like a storybook figure hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album is popular music on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for high Art in an era of impending artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its own built-in excess. It is a deep source of hidden treasure that takes time to completely mine but never feels like hard work. While some big releases of 2025 felt like feasting on scraps, this record is a sumptuous feast at which the characters at it, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flit from discussions about historical figures, the profound feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and shared stories about useless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from pop's truly endlessly inventive practitioner.
