At first glance, this album may look more like a challenging university challenge than a new pop album by a musician whose last hit featured an international K-pop icon. Split into 4 different parts and sung in 13 languages, it is a breathtaking classical-tinged work that delves into female mystique, spiritual transcendence, and corporal transformation, frequently by way of the lens of various female saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme handled with raw openness on another major 2025 album—is launched upwards here, supported by the lush sound of a full orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer within a long list of collaborators. Its sheer audacity alone renders the efforts of other artists seem rather small.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
The fact that this album manages to avoid dry academic chin-stroking feels nothing short of miraculous, with sole praise belonging to Rosalía. While this is not the first time album to alchemize the past and the present, the ambitions are much higher here, and the balancing act more pronounced. What really raises this fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, dense compositions, and engrained drama, is an essential sense of joy. Similar to the iconic artist at her peak, you find a wondrous quality to the vocalist's voice that pulls you up in its tornado. Even when she's breaking your heart apart, the listener nevertheless desire to be alongside her through the journey.
A Signature Example of Exuberance
That playful energy comes forth clearly during the stirring piano-led song about Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool for several minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops silent, and there's a gleeful giggle followed by a comment before a hilariously over-the-top string surge crashes in like comedic impact. The song immediately shifts to the wild track featuring racing strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo role from the artist Björk.
"The magic with this album is that the listener never quite know—nor want to know—where you is going next."
Nearly each track ends in a totally different place from how it began. A track explores the transient nature of fame over a delicate symphony only to disintegrating in electronic chaos. Another, a cut that recalls her previous trap-infused style begins out dark and sinister, featuring menacing beats, before fluttering traditional rhythms and an angelic chorus arrive to soften the song's rough corners.
The Balance Of Experiment and Pop
A key achievement of Lux involves straddling the gap between radical experimentation and broad accessibility. It is little surprise that the album has become her highest-charting work to break into the Top 5 of major markets: its heart contains a suite of truly catchy hits. One track performed entirely in English builds around a refrain that feels to gather increasingly nagging melodies as it spirals skyward. That feat is echoed on a different powerful ballad that expands and contracts, weaving multiple melodies like a complex weave.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its jaunty, theatrical drama and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture impact of other breakup songs, lambasting a former lover labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals carry a painted-on smile, like a storybook character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You've the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Soul
Lux is pop on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of impending artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of hidden treasure that requires time to fully explore but never feels like hard work. While other big releases of the year seemed like feasting on meal, this record offers a lavish feast where the guests around the table, some intoxicated on sacred wine, flutter between conversations about historical figures, the profound feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and shared stories about hopeless partners. It is a modern-day musical from pop's truly endlessly inventive practitioner.
