At first glance, this work could seem closer to a challenging scholarly quiz rather than a new popular music project by a musician who just had a previous hit featured an international pop star. Broken into four distinct movements and performed in 13 tongues, this is a breathtaking orchestral-influenced album that delves into female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and bodily transformation, often via the lens of different female saints. The end of a romance—a topic handled with raw honesty elsewhere—soars upwards here, buoyed by the constant sound of a full symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter among a long roll call of contributors. The pure daring by itself makes the efforts of other artists appear rather laughable.
Transcending Academic Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to transcend dry academic chin-stroking feels almost miraculous, with full praise going to Rosalía. While it's not the first time project to blend the past and the present, the ambitions feel much greater here, and the tightrope walk far more dramatic. The element that truly elevates this fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and inherent drama, proves to be an essential sense of joy. Much like the iconic artist at her height, you find a wondrous sense to the vocalist's singing that pulls the listener up in its tornado. Even when she's breaking your heart apart, the listener still want to be alongside her for the journey.
A Prime Moment of Joy
This exuberant energy shines clearly on the stirring Italian song about Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool over several moments. Then, everything drops silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous laugh and a declaration prior to a comically over-the-top string crescendo thuds in with comedic force. The song then shifts to the frenetic single featuring galloping strings, a powerful choral group, and a surprise role from none other than Björk.
"The charm of Lux is that the listener never exactly understand—nor want to predict—where you will go to next."
Nearly each track finishes in a totally different place from where it started. A track explores the transient nature of celebrity with a delicate symphony only to disintegrating in electronic cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's previous rhythmic work begins off dark and sinister, with menacing vocals, until sudden flamenco handclaps and a heavenly chorus enter to soften its jagged edges.
The Balance Of Art & Accessibility
A key achievement of Lux is navigating the line between radical experimentation and mainstream accessibility. This is little coincidence that it has achieved the artist's highest-charting work to crack the Top 5 of key markets: at its core a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. A song performed primarily in English swells on a chorus that seems to gather more and more nagging melodies while it spirals skyward. This feat is echoed on a different powerful ballad that grows and constricts, weaving multiple tunes like a complex weave.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it shares the pop culture honesty of other breakup songs, eviscerating a former partner described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the vocals carry a painted-on edge, akin to a fairy-tale character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
Lux is pop on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for high artistry in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism in favor of sublime elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. This is an abundant well of buried gems that requires patience to completely explore but doesn't feels like a chore. While other big releases of 2025 felt like feasting on meal, this record is a lavish banquet where the characters at the table, some intoxicated on sacred drink, flit from discussions about historical figures, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and shared stories about useless men. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from music's most endlessly inventive visionary.
