On the surface, this album might appear more like a challenging academic examination than a new pop project from a musician who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international pop star. Split into 4 different parts and voiced in thirteen tongues, it is a head-spinning symphonic album exploring feminine mystery, spiritual transcendence, and corporal transformation, often through the prism of different women saints. The dissolution of a romance—a theme handled with raw openness on another major 2025 album—is shot skyward on this record, carried by the constant sound of a full symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter among a vast list of contributors. The pure daring alone makes the work of contemporary pop stars look rather laughable.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
That Lux manages to avoid dry intellectual chin-stroking is almost a miracle, with complete praise going to Rosalía. While this is not the first time album to alchemize the past and the present, its ambitions feel much higher here, and the tightrope walk more pronounced. The element that really raises her fourth release, beyond its complex melodies, dense compositions, and engrained theatricality, is a core sense of playfulness. Similar to the iconic artist during her height, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. When she's breaking hearts in two, the listener nevertheless want to be alongside her through the journey.
A Signature Example of Exuberance
This exuberant spirit shines clearly on a stirring Italian song about a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy over more than four minutes. Then, all the music falls away, to reveal there's a gleeful giggle and a declaration before a comically exaggerated orchestral crescendo thuds in like comedic force. The song immediately segues to the frenetic track featuring racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise role from the artist herself.
"The magic with Lux is that you never quite understand—nor wish to predict—what you will go next."
Nearly every song finishes in a totally different place than how it started. A track explores the fleeting nature of celebrity over a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating into digital chaos. Another, a cut that recalls her earlier rhythmic work begins off dark and sinister, with prowling vocals, until fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to smooth its rough edges.
The Bridge Of Experiment and Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act of Lux is straddling the line between radical innovation and mainstream appeal. This is little coincidence that the album has achieved the artist's first work to break into the upper reaches of key markets: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable pop songs. A song sung primarily in the English language swells on a chorus that feels to gather increasingly nagging hooks while it spins skyward. That trick is echoed on another powerful track that grows and contracts, weaving multiple melodies as a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it aligns with pop culture impact of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting a former lover described as an "psychological terrorist".
- Across the album, the singing have a sharp smile, akin to a storybook character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
This album is pop on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for high artistry in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism for glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top drama that skillfully manages its built-in excess. It is a deep source of buried treasure that takes patience to fully explore but doesn't seem like a chore. While other major pop albums of the year felt like a meager scraps, Lux offers a sumptuous feast at which the guests around the table, perhaps tipsy on holy drink, flutter from discussions about ancient saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and shared gossip about useless partners. It is a contemporary musical from pop's truly endlessly inventive visionary.
