At first glance, this album may look closer to an arduous scholarly quiz than a new pop album from a musician whose previous single featured an international pop icon. Split across four separate sections and sung in 13 languages, this is a dizzying symphonic opus that delves into feminine mystique, spiritual transcendence, and bodily transformation, often through the prism of various saintly figures. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—is shot skyward on this record, supported by the constant sound of a major orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within an extensive roll call of contributors. The pure ambition by itself makes the efforts of contemporary pop stars look rather small.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
That Lux manages to escape overly academic chin-stroking feels nearly a miracle, with sole credit going to Rosalía. Although this is not her first album to fuse historical sounds and the present, its ambitions are far greater on Lux, and the balancing act more precarious. What truly raises her fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, dense compositions, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential sense of playfulness. Similar to the legendary artist during her peak, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls you into its tornado. Even when she is breaking hearts in two, you nevertheless want to stay right there through the journey.
A Prime Example of Joy
That exuberant energy shines clearly on a stirring Italian song about a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool over several moments. Then, everything falls away, to reveal there's a gleeful laugh followed by a declaration prior to a hilariously over-the-top orchestral surge thuds in like comedic impact. The song immediately shifts into the frenetic track driven by racing strings, a powerful choir, and a surprise appearance from the artist herself.
"The charm of this album lies in the listener rarely exactly understand—nor wish to know—what you is going next."
Almost each song ends at a completely distinct place than where it began. A track examines the transient trappings of celebrity over a delicate orchestration only to disintegrating into electronic cacophony. Another, a song echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused style starts out dark and brooding, with menacing beats, before sudden flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir arrive to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Bridge Of Art and Pop
A key balancing act on Lux involves straddling the gap between bold innovation and broad accessibility. It is little surprise that it has achieved the artist's first work to crack the upper reaches of major markets: at its core a suite of utterly undeniable pop songs. One track performed primarily in English swells around a refrain that seems to gather more and more nagging hooks as it spins upward. This feat is echoed by a different expansive ballad that expands and contracts, weaving multiple melodies as a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused number seduces via its playful, theatrical drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it aligns the cultural impact of contemporary breakup songs, eviscerating an ex- partner labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across the album, the vocals have a sharp edge, akin to a storybook figure concealing a knife: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
Lux represents pop on a maximalist scale, an ambitious grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully controls its own inherent excess. It is an abundant well of buried gems that requires time to completely explore but doesn't seem like hard work. Where other major releases of 2025 felt like feasting on meal, this record is a sumptuous feast at which the characters at the table, perhaps tipsy on sacred wine, flutter from discussions about historical figures, the profound sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and shared gossip about hopeless men. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from music's truly endlessly inventive visionary.
