Initially, this work could seem more like an arduous university challenge rather than the latest pop record by an artist whose previous single featured a global pop icon. Split across four different movements and voiced in thirteen tongues, we have a dizzying classical-tinged album investigating feminine mystique, religious ascent, and physical change, often through the prism of various female saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic handled with grounded honesty on another major 2025 album—is shot heavenward on this record, carried by the constant presence of a major orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a vast list of contributors. The pure daring by itself renders the work of contemporary pop stars look quite small.
Transcending Academic Exercise
That this album manages to avoid overly intellectual posturing feels nothing short of a miracle, and sole credit belonging to Rosalía. While it's not the first time album to blend historical sounds and modern styles, the stakes are far higher on Lux, with the balancing act far more pronounced. What truly raises this fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, rich compositions, and inherent theatricality, proves to be a core sense of playfulness. Similar to the legendary artist at her peak, you find a wondrous quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener up in its whirlwind. Even when she is breaking your heart in two, you nevertheless desire to stay right there for the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
That exuberant energy shines brightly during the stirring Italian song inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four moments. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal we hear a gleeful giggle and a comment before a comically exaggerated string surge crashes down with cartoonish force. The song then segues into the frenetic single featuring racing strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo appearance from none other than herself.
"The magic with this album is that the listener rarely quite know—or even want to predict—what you is going next."
Almost every track finishes in a completely different place from how it started. One moment explores the fleeting nature of fame with a featherlight orchestration only to collapsing in electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused style starts out dark and brooding, with menacing beats, until fluttering traditional rhythms and an angelic choir arrive to smooth its rough edges.
The Bridge Of Art and Accessibility
Another crucial achievement on the album is straddling the gap between bold experimentation and mainstream appeal. It is no surprise that it has achieved her first release to crack the Top 5 of key charts: at its core a collection of truly catchy pop songs. A song sung entirely in the English language swells around a refrain that feels to collect more and more nagging hooks as it spirals skyward. This feat is echoed on another expansive track that grows and constricts, weaving multiple melodies like an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused number charms via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "psychological bully".
- Across the album, the vocals have a painted-on edge, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Feast for the Soul
Lux represents popular music on a maximalist scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art amid of impending artificial blankness. It rejects self-absorption for sublime elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its inherent excess. It is a deep source of buried treasure that takes time to fully explore but doesn't feels like hard work. While some big pop albums of 2025 seemed like feasting on meal, Lux offers a lavish banquet at which the characters around it, some tipsy on sacred wine, flutter between discussions about historical figures, the profound feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about useless men. It is a contemporary musical from pop's truly endlessly creative visionary.
