On the surface, this work may look more like an arduous university examination rather than a new pop project by an artist who just had a last single was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Broken into four different sections and voiced in 13 languages, we have a dizzying symphonic work that delves into female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and bodily change, frequently through the prism of various women saints. The end of a romance—a theme handled with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—is shot upwards on this record, carried by the constant sound of a full orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer among a vast roll call of contributors. Its sheer ambition by itself renders the efforts of contemporary artists look quite laughable.
Transcending Academic Pretense
The fact that this album manages to transcend overly academic chin-stroking is nothing short of miraculous, with full credit going to Rosalía. While this is not her first project to alchemize the past with modern styles, its stakes are much greater here, and the tightrope walk far more precarious. What really raises her fourth album, beyond its multilayered tunes, dense arrangements, and engrained drama, is an essential spirit of joy. Similar to the iconic Björk during her peak, you find a wondrous sense to the vocalist's voice which sweeps you up in its whirlwind. When she's breaking your heart in two, you nevertheless desire to be alongside her for the ride.
A Signature Example of Joy
That exuberant energy shines brightly on the stunning piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four moments. Then, everything falls silent, and we hear a spontaneous laugh followed by a comment before a hilariously exaggerated string surge thuds in like cartoonish impact. The song immediately segues to the wild single featuring galloping strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from none other than herself.
"The charm of Lux is that you rarely quite understand—nor wish to know—where it will go next."
Almost each track concludes at a completely distinct point than where it started. A track explores the transient trappings of fame over a featherlight symphony before collapsing into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing the artist's previous rhythmic work starts out dark and sinister, with menacing beats, before fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to smooth its jagged edges.
The Balance Between Experiment & Pop
A key achievement of the album involves navigating the line of radical innovation and broad accessibility. It is little surprise that it has achieved her first work to crack the upper reaches of major markets: its heart contains a suite of utterly catchy pop songs. One track performed entirely in the English language swells around a chorus that feels to gather increasingly nagging hooks as it spins upward. This feat gets repeated by another powerful ballad that grows and constricts, weaving multiple tunes like a complex weave.
- A dance-infused song charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns with cultural honesty of other breakup anthems, lambasting a former lover described as an "psychological bully".
- Across the album, the vocals carry a sharp smile, like a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
This album is pop on a maximalist scale, a hungry grasp for high Art in an era of impending artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime elevation, crafting an over-the-top drama that skillfully controls its built-in excess. It is an abundant well of buried treasure that takes patience to fully explore but never seem like a chore. Where other major releases of the year felt like feasting on scraps, this record offers a lavish banquet where the guests around the table, some intoxicated on holy drink, flit between conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly restlessly creative practitioner.
