On the surface, Lux could seem more like a challenging academic quiz than a new popular music album from an artist who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop star. Broken into four different movements and voiced in thirteen tongues, this is a head-spinning orchestral-influenced work investigating feminine mystery, religious ascent, and corporal change, often by way of the perspective of various saintly figures. The end of a love affair—a topic treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—soars heavenward here, supported by the lush presence of a major symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning composer within a long list of contributors. Its sheer ambition alone makes the work of contemporary pop stars seem rather laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
The fact that Lux succeeds in transcend dry intellectual chin-stroking is almost a miracle, and complete credit belonging to the artist. While this is not the first time album to blend the past with the present, the scale feel far higher here, with the tightrope walk far more dramatic. The element that really elevates this fourth album, beyond its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, proves to be an essential sense of joy. Much like the iconic artist at her peak, you find a captivating sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls you up in its whirlwind. Even when she is tearing hearts in two, you nevertheless want to stay alongside her for the journey.
A Prime Example of Joy
This playful energy comes forth brightly on the stunning Italian ballad inspired by a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool over several moments. Suddenly, everything falls away, to reveal we hear a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration prior to a comically over-the-top orchestral crescendo thuds down like comedic force. The song then segues to the wild single driven by galloping orchestration, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than Björk.
"The charm of Lux is that you never quite understand—nor want to know—what you will go next."
Almost every track concludes at a completely different point from where it started. One moment explores the transient nature of celebrity over a featherlight orchestration only to collapsing into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a song echoing her previous rhythmic work begins out moody and brooding, with prowling beats, before sudden flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir enter to soften its rough edges.
The Balance Of Art & Pop
Another crucial achievement on the album involves straddling the line between radical innovation and mainstream appeal. This is no surprise that the album has become her first work to break into the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a collection of truly catchy hits. A song sung primarily in the English language builds on a refrain that seems to gather increasingly nagging melodies while it spins skyward. This feat is echoed by a different powerful ballad that expands and constricts, weaving layered melodies as a complex weave.
- A waltz-like song charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns the pop culture impact of other breakup anthems, eviscerating a former lover described as an "psychological bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on smile, like a storybook character hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
Lux is popular music on a maximalist scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of looming artificial sameness. It eschews solipsism for glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top drama that skillfully controls its inherent excess. It is an abundant well of buried treasure that requires time to fully mine but never seem like a chore. While other major pop albums of 2025 felt like feasting on scraps, Lux offers a sumptuous banquet where the characters around it, some tipsy on sacred drink, flutter between discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking grief, and common stories about useless partners. It is a contemporary theatrical production from pop's truly restlessly creative visionary.
