On the surface, this album may look closer to an arduous university challenge rather than a new popular music album by a musician whose last hit featured a global pop star. Broken across four different movements and performed in 13 tongues, this is a breathtaking orchestral-influenced album exploring female mystique, religious transcendence, and bodily transformation, frequently through the perspective of various women saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme treated with grounded openness elsewhere—is launched heavenward here, buoyed by the lush sound of a major orchestra and contributions from an award-winning songwriter among a vast list of collaborators. Its sheer daring alone renders the work of contemporary artists appear rather laughable.
Transcending Academic Pretense
The fact that this album succeeds in escape overly academic chin-stroking is almost miraculous, with sole credit belonging to Rosalía. While it's not the first time project to alchemize historical sounds and the present, the ambitions feel far higher on Lux, and the balancing act far more dramatic. What really elevates her fourth release, outside of its multilayered melodies, dense arrangements, and engrained drama, is a core spirit of joy. Similar to the iconic artist at her height, you find a captivating sense to the vocalist's voice that pulls you up in its tornado. When she is tearing hearts in two, the listener still desire to stay alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
That playful energy shines clearly on the stunning Italian ballad inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for several minutes. Then, all the music falls away, and there's a spontaneous giggle and a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated orchestral surge thuds in like cartoonish impact. The song immediately segues into the wild single driven by galloping strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The charm with this album is that you rarely exactly know—or even wish to predict—where you will go next."
Almost each song concludes in a totally distinct point from how it began. A track examines the fleeting nature of celebrity over a featherlight orchestration only to collapsing in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused style starts out dark and sinister, with menacing beats, before sudden traditional handclaps and an angelic choir enter to smooth its rough edges.
The Bridge Between Experiment & Pop
Another crucial achievement of the album is straddling the gap of bold innovation and broad appeal. It is no coincidence that the album has become the artist's highest-charting release to crack the upper reaches of key markets: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy hits. One track sung primarily in English builds on a refrain that seems to gather more and more infectious hooks as it spins skyward. This feat is echoed by a different powerful ballad that grows and constricts, intertwining layered tunes as an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused number charms with its jaunty, theatrical drama and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it aligns with cultural impact of other heartbreak songs, lambasting a former lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the singing have a painted-on edge, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
This album represents popular music on a maximalist level, an ambitious grasp for high artistry in an era of looming AI-generated blankness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of sublime transcendence, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. This is a deep source of hidden gems that requires time to completely explore but doesn't seem like a chore. Where other major releases of 2025 felt like feasting on scraps, Lux is a lavish feast at which the guests at the table, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flit between conversations about ancient saints, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
