At first glance, this album may look closer to an arduous academic examination than the latest pop record from a musician whose previous hit featured a global pop icon. Divided into four different parts and performed in 13 languages, this is a breathtaking symphonic opus investigating feminine mystique, religious transcendence, and bodily change, frequently by way of the perspective of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme treated with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—is launched skyward on this record, supported by the lush sound of a full orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a vast roll call of collaborators. The pure daring by itself renders the work of other artists seem quite small.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
The fact that this album succeeds in avoid dry academic posturing is almost miraculous, with sole praise belonging to Rosalía. While it's not her first album to alchemize the past with modern styles, its ambitions are far higher here, with the balancing act more dramatic. What really elevates her fourth album, beyond its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is a core sense of joy. Similar to the legendary Björk at her height, there is a wondrous sense to the vocalist's singing which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. When she is breaking hearts apart, you still desire to be right there through the ride.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That exuberant energy comes forth clearly on the stunning piano-led song inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched melancholy for several minutes. Suddenly, everything falls away, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh and a comment before a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo thuds down like comedic impact. The song then shifts into the frenetic single featuring racing orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a surprise appearance from none other than herself.
"The magic with Lux lies in the listener never quite know—or even wish to know—where you is going next."
Nearly each song finishes at a completely different place from where it began. One moment explores the fleeting nature of fame with a featherlight symphony only to disintegrating in digital cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls her previous rhythmic style starts off dark and sinister, with menacing vocals, before fluttering traditional handclaps and an angelic chorus enter to smooth the song's rough corners.
The Bridge Between Art and Pop
A key achievement on Lux involves straddling the gap of bold experimentation and broad accessibility. It is little coincidence that the album has achieved her first work to crack the upper reaches of key markets: at its core a collection of utterly catchy pop songs. One track performed entirely in the English language builds around a chorus that seems to collect more and more nagging melodies as it spirals skyward. This trick is echoed on a different expansive track that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it aligns the cultural honesty of other breakup songs, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on edge, like a storybook figure hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You have the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
Lux is pop on a grand level, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its own built-in excess. This is an abundant source of buried treasure that requires patience to fully mine but never feels like a chore. While some major releases of the year seemed like feasting on meal, Lux offers a lavish banquet at which the characters around it, some tipsy on sacred drink, flutter from discussions about ancient figures, the profound sensation of heartbreaking grief, and common gossip about useless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from music's most restlessly inventive practitioner.
