At first glance, this work could seem closer to a challenging university examination than a new popular music album from a musician who just had a last hit was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Broken into four distinct movements and performed in 13 tongues, it is a head-spinning classical-tinged album exploring feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and bodily change, frequently by way of the perspective of various female saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic handled with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—is shot heavenward on this record, supported by the lush presence of a major orchestra and work from an award-winning composer among an extensive list of collaborators. The pure ambition alone makes the work of contemporary artists appear quite laughable.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That this album succeeds in escape overly intellectual posturing is nearly miraculous, with complete praise going to Rosalía. While this is not her first album to alchemize the past with the present, the stakes are much higher here, with the balancing act more dramatic. The element that really elevates this fourth release, beyond its multilayered melodies, dense arrangements, and engrained drama, proves to be an essential sense of fun. Similar to the legendary artist at her height, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener into its whirlwind. When she is breaking hearts in two, you still want to stay right there through the journey.
A Signature Moment of Joy
This exuberant energy shines brightly during the stirring Italian ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over several minutes. Suddenly, everything drops away, to reveal there's a gleeful giggle followed by a comment prior to a comically over-the-top string surge crashes in with comedic impact. The song immediately shifts to the frenetic single featuring galloping strings, a powerful choir, and a surprise role from none other than Björk.
"The magic with this album is that the listener never quite understand—nor wish to predict—what you is going to next."
Nearly each track finishes in a completely different point from how it started. A track examines the fleeting nature of celebrity over a featherlight orchestration before collapsing in digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's earlier rhythmic work starts off moody and brooding, with menacing beats, until sudden flamenco rhythms and an angelic chorus arrive to smooth the song's rough corners.
The Balance Between Experiment and Accessibility
A key achievement on the album involves navigating the line between bold innovation and broad appeal. This is no surprise that it has achieved her first release to break into the upper reaches of major markets: at its core a collection of truly catchy pop songs. One track sung primarily in the English language swells around a refrain that seems to collect increasingly nagging melodies while it spins skyward. That trick is echoed on another powerful track that expands and constricts, weaving layered melodies as an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused number charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it shares the cultural impact of other heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on edge, like a fairy-tale character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Ears
This album is popular music on a grand level, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry amid of impending AI-generated sameness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious elevation, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep source of buried gems that takes patience to fully mine but doesn't seem like hard work. Where some major releases of 2025 felt like a meager meal, Lux is a sumptuous feast where the guests around it, some tipsy on sacred drink, flutter from discussions about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common gossip about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from music's most endlessly creative practitioner.
