🔗 Share this article

At first glance, this album may look closer to a challenging scholarly quiz rather than a new pop project from a musician who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with a global pop star. Divided across 4 distinct sections and sung in thirteen languages, we have a head-spinning orchestral-influenced album investigating feminine mystery, spiritual transcendence, and corporal transformation, frequently via the lens of various female saints. The dissolution of a romance—a theme treated with grounded honesty on another major 2025 album—is shot upwards here, supported by the lush sound of a major orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a long list of collaborators. Its sheer daring by itself renders the work of contemporary artists look rather small.

Rising Above Academic Exercise

That Lux succeeds in avoid dry intellectual posturing is nearly miraculous, with sole praise going to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time album to fuse historical sounds and modern styles, the scale feel much higher on Lux, and the tightrope walk far more precarious. What really raises her fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, rich arrangements, and inherent drama, is an essential spirit of joy. Similar to the legendary Björk at her peak, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's singing which sweeps you into its tornado. Even when she's breaking your heart apart, you nevertheless want to be right there through the ride.

A Signature Moment of Exuberance

This playful spirit shines clearly on the stirring piano-led song about Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool over several moments. Suddenly, all the music falls silent, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh and a declaration prior to a comically exaggerated string crescendo crashes in with comedic force. The song immediately shifts into the frenetic single driven by racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from the artist herself.

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

Nearly each song ends in a completely distinct place than where it began. A track explores the fleeting trappings of celebrity with a delicate symphony only to disintegrating in electronic chaos. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused style starts out moody and brooding, featuring prowling vocals, until fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften the song's jagged edges.

The Balance Between Art & Accessibility

Another crucial balancing act of the album is navigating the line of bold innovation and mainstream appeal. It is no coincidence that the album has become the artist's highest-charting release to break into the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable pop songs. One track sung entirely in English swells around a chorus that seems to gather increasingly infectious melodies as it spins upward. This feat gets repeated by a different expansive ballad that grows and contracts, weaving multiple tunes as an intricate tapestry.

• A waltz-like number charms with its jaunty, theatrical flair and a chant-along hook.
• Lyrically, it shares the pop culture impact of contemporary breakup anthems, lambasting a former partner labeled an "emotional terrorist".
• Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on smile, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."

A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears

This album represents pop on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism for glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that skillfully controls its inherent excess. It is a deep well of hidden gems that requires patience to completely explore but doesn't feels like hard work. Where other major pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, this record is a lavish feast at which the characters at the table, some tipsy on sacred drink, flit from conversations about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about useless men. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from pop's most endlessly inventive visionary.