On the surface, this album could seem closer to an arduous scholarly challenge than the latest popular music album from an artist who just had a last single featured an international K-pop star. Split into four separate sections and voiced in 13 tongues, we have a dizzying orchestral-influenced work that delves into feminine mystery, religious ascent, and physical transformation, frequently through the lens of various female saints. The end of a romance—a topic treated with grounded honesty on another major 2025 album—soars upwards here, buoyed by the lush presence of a full orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer within a long roll call of collaborators. The pure daring alone renders the efforts of contemporary artists look quite small.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
That this album manages to transcend overly intellectual chin-stroking is nothing short of miraculous, and sole praise belonging to the artist. Although it's not her first album to blend historical sounds and the present, the ambitions feel much greater here, and the balancing act far more pronounced. The element that truly raises this fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, dense compositions, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of fun. Much like the iconic Björk at her height, there is a captivating sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps you into its whirlwind. Even when she's breaking hearts apart, the listener still want to be right there for the ride.
A Signature Moment of Joy
This playful spirit shines clearly on the stirring Italian song about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy over several minutes. Then, all the music falls away, to reveal there's a gleeful giggle and a declaration prior to a hilariously exaggerated orchestral surge thuds in like cartoonish force. The song then segues into the frenetic track featuring galloping orchestration, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from the artist Björk.
"The charm of this album lies in you never quite know—nor wish to know—what it is going to next."
Nearly every track ends at a completely different point from how it began. One moment examines the transient trappings of celebrity with a featherlight orchestration before collapsing in electronic chaos. Another, a song that recalls her earlier trap-infused work begins off dark and brooding, with menacing beats, before fluttering traditional rhythms and an angelic choir arrive to soften its jagged corners.
The Bridge Between Experiment and Pop
A key balancing act on Lux is navigating the line of radical experimentation and broad appeal. It is no surprise that the album has achieved her highest-charting release to crack the Top 5 of key markets: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable pop songs. One track sung entirely in English builds on a chorus that feels to gather more and more nagging melodies as it spins upward. That trick gets repeated by a different expansive ballad that expands and constricts, intertwining layered melodies as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it aligns with pop culture impact of other breakup anthems, lambasting a former partner labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the vocals carry a painted-on edge, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
This album represents pop on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for high artistry in an era of impending artificial sameness. It eschews solipsism in favor of sublime elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its own inherent excess. This is a deep source of buried gems that requires time to completely mine but never seem like a chore. While other big pop albums of the year seemed like a meager meal, this record is a lavish feast where the guests at the table, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flit between conversations about historical figures, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and common stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from music's most restlessly creative practitioner.
