Initially, Lux may look closer to a challenging academic quiz rather than the latest popular music album by a musician who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international pop star. Divided across four different parts and voiced in 13 languages, we have a head-spinning symphonic work investigating feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and corporal change, frequently via the prism of different female saints. The end of a relationship—a topic treated with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—soars skyward here, buoyed by the lush presence of a major orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a long list of collaborators. Its sheer audacity by itself makes the efforts of contemporary pop stars look quite laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
That this album succeeds in escape dry academic posturing feels nothing short of a miracle, and complete credit going to the artist. While it's not the first time album to fuse the past with modern styles, its stakes feel far higher on Lux, and the balancing act more precarious. The element that truly raises this fourth release, beyond its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of fun. Similar to the legendary artist during her peak, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls you up in its tornado. Even when she's tearing your heart apart, you still want to stay alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
This playful spirit shines clearly during a stunning piano-led ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool over more than four minutes. Then, all the music drops silent, and we hear a spontaneous giggle and a comment before a comically over-the-top string surge thuds down like comedic force. The song then segues to the wild track driven by galloping orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a cameo appearance from none other than herself.
"The magic of Lux is that the listener rarely quite know—nor wish to know—where you will go to next."
Nearly each track finishes in a totally different place than where it began. A track examines the transient trappings of celebrity with a featherlight symphony before collapsing in digital cacophony. Another, a song echoing her earlier trap-infused style begins off moody and brooding, with menacing vocals, until fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften the song's rough corners.
The Balance Between Experiment and Accessibility
Another crucial achievement of Lux is straddling the gap of bold experimentation and mainstream appeal. It is little coincidence that the album has become her first work to break into the Top 5 of key charts: its heart contains a collection of truly catchy hits. One track sung primarily in English builds on a refrain that seems to gather more and more infectious hooks while it spins skyward. That feat gets repeated on a different powerful track that grows and constricts, intertwining layered melodies like an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused song seduces with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it aligns with pop culture impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, lambasting an ex- partner described as an "emotional bully".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a sharp smile, akin to a fairy-tale character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
This album represents pop on a grand scale, a hungry reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming AI-generated blankness. It eschews solipsism for glorious transcendence, creating a dramatic spectacle that masterfully manages its built-in excess. This is an abundant well of buried treasure that requires patience to fully mine but never feels like a chore. While some big releases of 2025 felt like feasting on meal, Lux is a lavish banquet where the guests around it, perhaps tipsy on holy drink, flit between discussions about ancient saints, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and shared stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from pop's most endlessly creative practitioner.
