At first glance, Lux could seem closer to a difficult university quiz than a new popular music record from a musician who just had a last single was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Broken across 4 different sections and voiced in 13 languages, we have a dizzying orchestral-influenced work that delves into feminine mystery, religious ascent, and corporal change, frequently through the perspective of different saintly figures. The end of a relationship—a topic handled with raw openness on another major 2025 album—is launched upwards here, buoyed by the lush sound of a major orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer within a vast roll call of contributors. The pure audacity by itself makes the work of contemporary artists look quite small.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
That Lux manages to avoid dry academic posturing feels nothing short of a miracle, and sole credit going to Rosalía. Although this is not the first time album to blend the past and the present, the ambitions feel much greater on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more dramatic. What truly elevates this fourth release, beyond its complex tunes, dense compositions, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the iconic Björk during her height, there is a captivating quality to the vocalist's singing which sweeps you up in its tornado. When she is breaking your heart apart, the listener nevertheless desire to stay alongside her for the ride.
A Prime Moment of Joy
That playful spirit comes forth brightly during a stunning Italian song about a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy over several minutes. Then, everything drops silent, and we hear a gleeful giggle and a declaration prior to a hilariously over-the-top orchestral crescendo crashes in with comedic force. The track then shifts to the wild track driven by racing orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a surprise appearance from none other than herself.
"The magic of this album lies in the listener never exactly understand—nor want to know—what it will go next."
Nearly each track finishes in a completely distinct point from how it started. A track examines the fleeting trappings of celebrity over a delicate symphony only to disintegrating into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing her earlier rhythmic style starts out dark and brooding, featuring menacing vocals, until fluttering traditional handclaps and an angelic chorus enter to smooth the song's rough edges.
The Balance Of Experiment & Accessibility
A key achievement of Lux is straddling the gap between bold innovation and broad appeal. This is little surprise that the album has achieved the artist's first work to break into the Top 5 of key charts: its heart contains a suite of utterly catchy hits. One track performed primarily in English builds around a chorus that seems to gather increasingly infectious hooks while it spirals skyward. That feat gets repeated on another powerful track that expands and constricts, weaving multiple tunes like a complex weave.
- A waltz-like song seduces via its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic hook.
- In its words, it aligns with pop culture impact of other breakup anthems, lambasting an ex- partner labeled an "psychological bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a sharp smile, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
Lux is popular music on a maximalist level, a hungry reach for high Art amid of impending AI-generated sameness. It rejects solipsism in favor of glorious transcendence, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of hidden treasure that requires time to fully mine but doesn't seem like hard work. While other major releases of the year felt like a meager scraps, Lux offers a sumptuous feast at which the characters around it, some intoxicated on holy drink, flutter from conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and common stories about useless men. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from music's most endlessly creative practitioner.
