At first glance, Lux might appear more like a difficult university examination than a new pop album by a musician whose last hit featured an international pop star. Broken into four distinct movements and voiced in thirteen languages, we have a head-spinning classical-tinged album exploring feminine mystery, spiritual transcendence, and physical change, frequently through the prism of different saintly figures. The end of a love affair—a topic handled with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—soars heavenward here, carried by the constant presence of a major orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter among a long roll call of collaborators. Its sheer audacity alone renders the efforts of contemporary pop stars look quite modest.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to avoid overly academic chin-stroking feels nothing short of a miracle, with sole credit going to the artist. Although this is not the first time project to fuse the past with the present, the stakes feel much higher on Lux, with the balancing act more dramatic. What really raises this fourth release, beyond its complex tunes, dense compositions, and inherent drama, is an essential sense of fun. Much like the iconic Björk at her height, there is a captivating quality to Rosalía's voice that pulls you into its whirlwind. When she is tearing hearts in two, the listener still want to be right there for the ride.
A Signature Example of Exuberance
This playful spirit comes forth brightly during a stunning piano-led song inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for more than four minutes. Then, all the music falls away, to reveal there's a spontaneous giggle and a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo crashes down like comedic force. The track immediately segues to the wild single featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a surprise role from the artist Björk.
"The charm of this album is that you rarely exactly know—nor want to know—where it is going to next."
Almost each song ends at a totally distinct place than where it began. One moment explores the fleeting nature of fame over a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating in electronic chaos. Another, a cut echoing her previous trap-infused style starts off moody and sinister, with menacing beats, until fluttering flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir arrive to smooth its rough edges.
The Balance Of Experiment & Pop
A key achievement on the album is navigating the gap of bold experimentation and broad appeal. It is no surprise that the album has achieved the artist's highest-charting work to crack the Top 5 of key markets: at its core a suite of truly catchy pop songs. One track sung primarily in English builds around a chorus that seems to gather more and more nagging melodies while it spins upward. That feat gets repeated by a different powerful ballad that expands and contracts, intertwining layered tunes as a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like number seduces with its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it shares the cultural honesty of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting a former lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on smile, like a storybook figure concealing a blade: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Soul
Lux represents pop on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for high Art in an era of looming artificial sameness. It eschews solipsism for sublime transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully manages its own built-in excess. This is an abundant source of hidden gems that takes time to fully explore but never feels like hard work. Where some major releases of 2025 felt like feasting on scraps, this record is a sumptuous feast where the guests around it, some intoxicated on holy drink, flit from discussions about historical figures, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking grief, and shared gossip about useless partners. It is a contemporary musical from pop's truly restlessly inventive visionary.