At first glance, this album could seem closer to an arduous university examination than a new popular music album from an artist whose previous hit featured a global pop star. Split into 4 separate movements and voiced in thirteen tongues, we have a breathtaking symphonic work investigating feminine mystery, religious transcendence, and physical transformation, often via the prism of different female saints. The end of a relationship—a theme treated with grounded honesty on another major 2025 album—is shot heavenward here, supported by the constant presence of a full orchestra and input from an award-winning composer among a long list of collaborators. Its sheer daring alone makes the efforts of other artists appear rather laughable.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to escape dry intellectual chin-stroking feels nothing short of miraculous, and full praise belonging to the artist. Although it's not the first time project to fuse historical sounds and the present, its scale are much higher on Lux, and the tightrope walk far more precarious. The element that really raises this fourth release, outside of its complex melodies, dense compositions, and inherent drama, proves to be a core sense of joy. Much like the iconic artist at her peak, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. Even when she's breaking your heart in two, you nevertheless desire to stay right there through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That playful energy shines clearly on the stunning piano-led song about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for several minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls silent, to reveal we hear a gleeful laugh and a declaration prior to a hilariously over-the-top string surge thuds down like comedic force. The song immediately shifts to the frenetic track driven by racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a surprise appearance from the artist Björk.
"The charm of Lux lies in the listener rarely quite understand—or even want to know—where you is going to next."
Almost each song concludes at a totally different place than how it started. A track examines the transient nature of fame with a featherlight symphony before collapsing into electronic cacophony. Another, a song echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused work begins off dark and brooding, with prowling beats, before sudden flamenco rhythms and an angelic chorus enter to soften the song's jagged edges.
The Balance Of Experiment and Pop
Another crucial achievement of the album is straddling the gap between bold experimentation and mainstream appeal. This is no surprise that the album has achieved her highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a suite of utterly catchy hits. One track sung primarily in the English language swells on a refrain that feels to gather more and more infectious melodies while it spirals skyward. This trick gets repeated on a different expansive track that expands and contracts, intertwining layered melodies like an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like number seduces via its playful, theatrical flair and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares with pop culture impact of other heartbreak songs, lambasting a former lover labeled an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing carry a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook figure concealing a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
Lux represents popular music on a grand level, a hungry grasp for high artistry in an era of impending artificial blankness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of sublime elevation, creating an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its inherent ridiculousness. This is a deep source of buried treasure that takes patience to fully mine but doesn't seem like hard work. While some big releases of the year seemed like a meager meal, this record is a sumptuous banquet where the characters around the table, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flit between conversations about historical saints, the profound sensation of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from pop's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
