🔗 Share this article

Initially, this work could seem closer to a difficult university quiz rather than the latest pop album from an artist who just had a last hit featured an international pop star. Broken across 4 different sections and sung in 13 tongues, this is a dizzying classical-tinged opus investigating feminine mystery, religious ascent, and corporal transformation, frequently via the lens of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme treated with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—is launched heavenward here, carried by the constant sound of a major symphony orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer among a vast roll call of collaborators. Its sheer ambition by itself makes the work of other pop stars appear rather modest.

Rising Above Academic Pretense

That this album succeeds in transcend dry academic posturing feels almost miraculous, with complete praise belonging to Rosalía. Although this is not her first album to blend historical sounds with the present, its stakes are much higher on Lux, with the balancing act more pronounced. The element that really elevates her fourth release, outside of its complex melodies, rich compositions, and engrained theatricality, is a core spirit of joy. Much like the legendary Björk during her height, you find a captivating sense to Rosalía's singing which sweeps you into its whirlwind. Even when she is tearing hearts apart, the listener nevertheless want to be right there through the ride.

A Prime Example of Exuberance

This playful spirit comes forth brightly during the stirring piano-led song about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for more than four moments. Suddenly, everything drops away, to reveal there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a comment prior to a hilariously exaggerated orchestral surge thuds in with cartoonish impact. The song immediately segues into the wild track driven by racing orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a surprise role from the artist herself.

"The charm with this album is that the listener never quite know—or even want to predict—what you will go to next."

Almost each track concludes at a completely different point than where it began. A track examines the transient trappings of celebrity over a featherlight symphony only to disintegrating in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's previous trap-infused style begins out dark and brooding, with prowling beats, before fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to soften the song's jagged corners.

The Bridge Of Art & Pop

A key achievement on the album is navigating the gap between radical experimentation and broad accessibility. It is little coincidence that the album has become the artist's first release to crack the upper reaches of key markets: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable pop songs. A song sung entirely in English builds around a refrain that feels to collect increasingly infectious melodies while it spins skyward. This feat is echoed on a different powerful track that expands and constricts, weaving multiple tunes as a complex weave.

• A waltz-like number charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic hook.
• In its words, it shares with cultural honesty of contemporary breakup anthems, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional bully".
• Across the album, the singing carry a painted-on smile, like a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."

An Opulent Feast for the Ears

Lux is popular music on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for high artistry in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of glorious transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its own inherent excess. It is a deep well of buried gems that takes time to fully mine but doesn't feels like hard work. While other big releases of the year felt like a meager scraps, Lux is a sumptuous feast where the characters at the table, some tipsy on sacred wine, flutter between discussions about historical saints, the profound feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and common gossip about hopeless men. It is a modern-day musical from music's most restlessly creative practitioner.