At first glance, this album might appear closer to a challenging academic examination rather than a new pop album from a musician who just had a previous hit featured a global pop icon. Broken across 4 separate movements and sung in thirteen languages, this is a breathtaking orchestral-influenced opus that delves into female mystique, spiritual transcendence, and corporal change, often by way of the lens of different female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with raw openness on another major 2025 album—soars skyward on this record, buoyed by the constant presence of a full orchestra and contributions from an award-winning songwriter among a long roll call of collaborators. The pure daring alone makes the work of contemporary artists seem quite modest.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
That this album manages to transcend dry academic chin-stroking is nothing short of a miracle, and sole praise going to the artist. While it's not the first time album to blend historical sounds and the present, the scale are far higher here, and the balancing act far more dramatic. What really elevates this fourth release, outside of its complex melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, proves to be a core sense of playfulness. Much like the legendary Björk during her peak, there is a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener up in its tornado. When she's tearing your heart apart, the listener nevertheless desire to stay right there for the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
This exuberant spirit shines brightly on the stirring Italian song inspired by a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool over several minutes. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh and a declaration prior to a comically exaggerated orchestral surge crashes down with cartoonish impact. The track immediately shifts into the wild single featuring galloping strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The magic with Lux lies in you rarely quite know—nor want to predict—where it will go next."
Nearly every track finishes at a totally different point than where it started. A track examines the fleeting nature of fame with a featherlight symphony only to disintegrating into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her previous rhythmic work begins out moody and brooding, with prowling beats, until fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Bridge Between Art & Accessibility
Another crucial achievement on the album is straddling the line of radical experimentation and broad accessibility. This is little surprise that the album has become her first release to crack the Top 5 of key charts: at its core a suite of utterly undeniable hits. One track performed primarily in the English language swells on a refrain that seems to gather more and more nagging hooks as it spirals upward. That feat gets repeated by a different expansive ballad that expands and contracts, weaving layered melodies like an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused number seduces with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares with cultural impact of contemporary breakup songs, eviscerating an ex- lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Across the album, the singing carry a sharp edge, akin to a storybook character concealing a blade: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Soul
Lux represents pop on a maximalist scale, an ambitious grasp for capital-A Art in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It rejects self-absorption for sublime elevation, crafting an over-the-top drama that masterfully manages its own inherent ridiculousness. It is a deep well of hidden gems that requires time to completely mine but never seem like a chore. Where other major releases of 2025 felt like a meager scraps, this record offers a sumptuous banquet at which the characters around it, perhaps tipsy on sacred wine, flit between discussions about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from music's most restlessly inventive visionary.
