Initially, this album might appear closer to a difficult academic examination rather than a new pop record by an artist whose previous single was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Broken into four different sections and sung in 13 tongues, we have a dizzying orchestral-influenced opus exploring feminine mystery, spiritual transcendence, and physical transformation, frequently via the lens of different women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with raw openness on another major 2025 album—is shot upwards on this record, supported by the constant presence of a full orchestra and contributions from an award-winning songwriter among a long roll call of contributors. The pure daring by itself renders the efforts of other artists look rather modest.
Transcending Academic Exercise
That Lux manages to escape overly intellectual posturing is nothing short of miraculous, with sole praise going to Rosalía. Although it's not her first album to alchemize the past with the present, the scale feel much higher here, with the balancing act far more dramatic. What truly raises this fourth release, beyond its complex melodies, dense arrangements, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential sense of playfulness. Similar to the iconic artist at her height, you find a wondrous sense to the vocalist's voice which sweeps you into its whirlwind. When she is breaking hearts in two, the listener nevertheless want to be right there for the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
That playful energy comes forth clearly during a stirring Italian ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy over more than four minutes. Then, everything falls away, and there's a gleeful laugh followed by a declaration before a hilariously over-the-top string surge thuds down with cartoonish impact. The song immediately shifts to the wild track featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from none other than herself.
"The charm with Lux is that you rarely quite know—nor want to know—where you is going to next."
Nearly each song ends at a completely different place from where it started. One moment explores the fleeting nature of fame with a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating into electronic chaos. Another, a song that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic style starts out dark and brooding, with prowling beats, until sudden flamenco handclaps and an angelic chorus arrive to soften its jagged corners.
The Balance Between Art & Pop
A key achievement on the album is straddling the line between radical experimentation and broad accessibility. This is no surprise that it has achieved the artist's highest-charting release to break into the Top 5 of major charts: at its core a collection of utterly catchy pop songs. A song performed entirely in English builds on a refrain that feels to collect increasingly nagging melodies as it spins upward. That feat gets repeated on a different powerful track that expands and constricts, intertwining multiple tunes like an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like song charms via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it aligns with cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the singing have a painted-on smile, like a storybook figure hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
Lux represents pop on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for high Art in an era of impending artificial sameness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of glorious transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its own built-in excess. It is an abundant well of buried treasure that requires time to completely explore but never seem like hard work. Where other major releases of 2025 felt like a meager scraps, Lux offers a lavish feast at which the guests at it, some intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter between conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about hopeless men. It is a modern-day theatrical production from pop's truly restlessly inventive practitioner.
