Initially, this work may look more like a difficult scholarly challenge rather than a new pop record by an artist whose last hit featured an international pop icon. Split across four different movements and performed in thirteen tongues, this is a dizzying orchestral-influenced opus that delves into female mystery, religious ascent, and corporal transformation, frequently by way of the perspective of various women saints. The end of a relationship—a theme treated with raw honesty elsewhere—is shot upwards on this record, supported by the lush sound of a full orchestra and work from an award-winning composer within a long list of contributors. The pure ambition alone makes the work of contemporary pop stars appear rather laughable.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
The fact that this album manages to avoid dry academic posturing is nearly miraculous, and complete credit going to Rosalía. Although this is not her first project to alchemize the past with modern styles, the stakes feel much higher here, and the balancing act far more dramatic. The element that truly elevates her fourth album, beyond its multilayered tunes, dense compositions, and inherent theatricality, is a core sense of fun. Similar to the iconic Björk at her height, there is a wondrous quality to the vocalist's voice that pulls you into its tornado. When she's tearing hearts apart, the listener still want to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Joy
This playful energy comes forth brightly on the stunning Italian song about a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool for more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous giggle and a comment prior to a hilariously over-the-top orchestral surge crashes in with comedic impact. The song immediately segues to the wild single featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The charm of this album is that you never exactly understand—nor want to know—where you will go to next."
Almost every track finishes in a completely different place from where it started. A track explores the transient nature of fame with a featherlight symphony only to disintegrating in electronic chaos. Another, a cut that recalls her earlier trap-infused style begins out dark and sinister, featuring menacing beats, until fluttering flamenco handclaps and a heavenly choir enter to soften the song's rough corners.
The Balance Of Art & Pop
Another crucial balancing act on the album involves straddling the gap between radical innovation and mainstream appeal. It is little surprise that it has achieved the artist's highest-charting release to crack the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a suite of truly catchy pop songs. One track sung primarily in the English language swells around a chorus that feels to gather more and more nagging melodies as it spirals upward. This feat gets repeated on another powerful ballad that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies as an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused number charms via its playful, theatrical drama and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it aligns the cultural honesty of contemporary heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former partner described as an "psychological bully".
- Across the album, the singing carry a sharp edge, akin to a storybook figure concealing a blade: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
This album is popular music on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for high Art in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime transcendence, creating an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its own built-in excess. It is an abundant source of hidden gems that takes time to completely explore but doesn't seem like hard work. Where other big pop albums of 2025 felt like a meager meal, Lux offers a lavish feast where the characters at the table, perhaps intoxicated on sacred wine, flit between conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and common stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's truly restlessly creative practitioner.
