Initially, this album might appear more like an arduous academic challenge rather than the latest popular music album from a musician whose last single featured an international K-pop icon. Broken into 4 distinct movements and voiced in thirteen tongues, we have a breathtaking classical-tinged album that delves into feminine mystique, religious ascent, and physical change, often through the perspective of different female saints. The end of a love affair—a theme treated with raw openness on another major 2025 album—is launched upwards here, carried by the lush sound of a full orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter among a vast list of contributors. Its sheer audacity alone renders the efforts of other artists look rather modest.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
That this album succeeds in escape overly intellectual chin-stroking feels nothing short of miraculous, and sole credit belonging to Rosalía. Although this is not the first time album to fuse the past and the present, its ambitions feel much higher here, and the tightrope walk far more dramatic. The element that truly raises this fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, rich arrangements, and inherent drama, is a core sense of fun. Similar to the legendary Björk during her height, you find a captivating sense to the vocalist's voice which sweeps you into its whirlwind. Even when she is tearing your heart in two, the listener nevertheless want to stay alongside her for the journey.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
That exuberant spirit comes forth brightly on the stirring Italian ballad about Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool over more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops away, to reveal there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a declaration before a comically exaggerated string surge thuds in with cartoonish force. The song immediately segues to the wild single featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a surprise appearance from none other than herself.
"The charm with this album lies in the listener rarely exactly understand—nor want to know—what you is going to next."
Almost every song concludes in a completely different place from where it began. A track examines the transient trappings of celebrity with a featherlight symphony only to disintegrating into electronic chaos. Another, a cut echoing the artist's previous rhythmic work starts off dark and sinister, featuring prowling vocals, until sudden flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to soften the song's rough edges.
The Bridge Between Art and Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act on the album is straddling the gap between bold innovation and mainstream appeal. It is no coincidence that it has become the artist's first work to crack the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a suite of utterly undeniable pop songs. One track sung entirely in English swells around a refrain that feels to gather increasingly nagging hooks as it spirals upward. That feat gets echoed on a different expansive ballad that grows and contracts, weaving multiple tunes as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like number charms via its jaunty, theatrical drama and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture honesty of other heartbreak anthems, eviscerating a former partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a sharp edge, akin to a fairy-tale character concealing a knife: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
Lux is pop on a grand level, a hungry reach for capital-A artistry in an era of impending artificial sameness. It eschews solipsism for glorious elevation, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its inherent excess. It is an abundant source of buried gems that takes time to fully mine but doesn't feels like a chore. Where other big releases of 2025 seemed like feasting on scraps, this record is a sumptuous banquet where the characters at the table, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flutter from conversations about historical saints, the profound feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's most restlessly creative visionary.
