At first glance, this work may look more like an arduous scholarly challenge rather than the latest popular music album by an artist who just had a last hit featured a global K-pop icon. Split across 4 different movements and performed in 13 languages, this is a breathtaking symphonic opus exploring feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and bodily transformation, frequently through the lens of different women saints. The end of a romance—a theme treated with grounded honesty on another major 2025 album—is shot upwards here, buoyed by the lush sound of a major orchestra and work from an award-winning composer among a long roll call of collaborators. Its sheer daring alone renders the work of other artists appear quite laughable.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
The fact that Lux manages to transcend dry academic chin-stroking is nothing short of a miracle, and sole praise going to Rosalía. While this is not her first album to fuse historical sounds with the present, its ambitions are much greater here, and the balancing act far more dramatic. What really elevates her fourth release, outside of its multilayered melodies, rich compositions, and inherent drama, proves to be an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the iconic Björk at her peak, you find a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. Even when she is breaking your heart apart, you nevertheless want to stay alongside her for the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
That playful energy shines brightly on the stunning piano-led song about Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool over several moments. Then, all the music drops silent, and there's a spontaneous laugh and a comment before a comically over-the-top string surge thuds down like comedic force. The song then segues to the frenetic track driven by galloping orchestration, a powerful choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist herself.
"The charm with this album is that you never exactly understand—nor wish to predict—where it is going next."
Nearly every song finishes at a completely distinct point than where it began. One moment examines the transient nature of fame over a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused style starts off dark and sinister, with menacing beats, before sudden traditional handclaps and a heavenly choir arrive to soften the song's rough corners.
The Balance Between Art and Accessibility
A key achievement on the album involves straddling the gap of bold experimentation and mainstream appeal. This is no surprise that it has become the artist's highest-charting work to break into the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable hits. A song sung primarily in English builds on a refrain that feels to collect more and more infectious hooks while it spirals upward. This feat gets echoed by a different expansive ballad that grows and contracts, weaving layered melodies as an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like song charms via its playful, theatrical flair and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns with pop culture impact of other heartbreak anthems, eviscerating a former lover described as an "psychological terrorist".
- Across the album, the vocals have a painted-on edge, akin to a fairy-tale character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
Lux is popular music on a grand level, an ambitious reach for high Art amid of impending artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism for glorious transcendence, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully manages its own built-in excess. This is an abundant source of buried treasure that takes time to fully explore but never feels like hard work. Where other major releases of the year felt like feasting on scraps, Lux offers a lavish feast at which the characters around the table, some intoxicated on holy wine, flutter between conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly endlessly inventive visionary.
