Initially, Lux might appear more like an arduous scholarly quiz rather than the latest popular music record from an artist who just had a last single featured a global pop star. Broken into four distinct sections and performed in thirteen languages, it is a dizzying classical-tinged work investigating female mystique, spiritual transcendence, and physical transformation, often via the prism of various women saints. The dissolution of a romance—a topic treated with raw openness on another major 2025 album—soars heavenward here, supported by the constant presence of a full orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a long list of collaborators. The pure daring by itself makes the efforts of contemporary artists seem rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That this album manages to escape overly intellectual chin-stroking is almost miraculous, and sole praise belonging to Rosalía. Although this is not her first project to alchemize the past with modern styles, the stakes are far greater here, and the balancing act far more dramatic. The element that truly raises this fourth release, outside of its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of joy. Much like the legendary artist during her peak, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. Even when she is breaking your heart in two, you still desire to be right there for the ride.
A Prime Example of Joy
That exuberant energy shines brightly during a stunning Italian ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool over more than four moments. Then, everything falls away, to reveal there's a gleeful giggle followed by a comment before a comically exaggerated string crescendo thuds in with cartoonish impact. The song then shifts to the frenetic single driven by racing strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The magic with this album is that you rarely quite know—or even wish to know—what you is going to next."
Almost every track ends in a completely different point than how it began. One moment examines the fleeting trappings of celebrity over a delicate orchestration before collapsing in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her previous rhythmic work starts out dark and brooding, with prowling beats, until fluttering traditional rhythms and an angelic choir arrive to soften its rough corners.
The Balance Of Experiment & Pop
A key achievement on Lux is navigating the line between radical innovation and mainstream appeal. This is little surprise that the album has achieved her highest-charting work to break into the Top 5 of key charts: at its core a suite of truly catchy pop songs. One track performed entirely in the English language swells around a refrain that feels to collect more and more nagging melodies as it spins skyward. That feat gets echoed by another expansive track that expands and contracts, weaving layered melodies like a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares with cultural honesty of other heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former lover labeled an "emotional bully".
- Across the album, the singing have a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
This album is pop on a maximalist scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art amid of looming artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its own inherent excess. It is an abundant source of buried gems that takes patience to fully explore but doesn't feels like a chore. Where other major releases of 2025 felt like feasting on scraps, Lux is a lavish banquet where the guests at the table, some tipsy on sacred wine, flutter from conversations about ancient saints, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and common gossip about useless men. It is a contemporary musical from music's truly restlessly inventive visionary.
