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On the surface, this album might appear closer to an arduous university quiz than a new pop record from an artist who just had a previous hit featured a global pop icon. Divided across 4 distinct sections and performed in 13 languages, this is a dizzying classical-tinged album investigating feminine mystery, spiritual transcendence, and bodily change, often through the prism of different women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—is launched skyward here, buoyed by the lush sound of a full orchestra and work from an award-winning composer among an extensive list of contributors. The pure audacity alone renders the work of other artists appear rather modest.

Transcending Academic Exercise

That this album manages to avoid overly intellectual posturing feels nearly a miracle, and full praise going to Rosalía. Although this is not the first time project to alchemize historical sounds and the present, its stakes are much greater here, with the tightrope walk far more dramatic. What truly raises this fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, dense compositions, and engrained drama, is a core sense of joy. Similar to the legendary artist at her peak, there is a captivating sense to the vocalist's voice that pulls the listener up in its tornado. Even when she is tearing hearts apart, the listener nevertheless desire to be right there for the journey.

A Signature Moment of Joy

This exuberant energy comes forth clearly during the stirring piano-led song about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for several moments. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal we hear a spontaneous giggle followed by a comment before a comically over-the-top orchestral surge crashes down like cartoonish impact. The song then shifts into the wild track driven by galloping strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from the artist Björk.

"The magic with Lux is that you rarely exactly understand—nor want to predict—where it will go to next."

Almost each track ends in a totally distinct point from how it began. One moment explores the transient nature of celebrity with a featherlight orchestration only to collapsing into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused work starts off dark and brooding, featuring menacing beats, before sudden traditional rhythms and an angelic chorus arrive to soften its rough edges.

The Bridge Of Experiment and Accessibility

A key achievement of the album involves navigating the line of bold innovation and broad accessibility. It is no coincidence that it has achieved her first release to break into the upper reaches of key charts: at its core a collection of truly catchy hits. A song sung primarily in the English language builds around a chorus that feels to gather increasingly infectious melodies as it spirals upward. This trick is repeated by another expansive ballad that grows and contracts, weaving multiple tunes as a complex weave.

• A waltz-like song charms with its playful, theatrical drama and a chant-along chorus.
• In its words, it aligns the cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak anthems, lambasting an ex- partner labeled an "psychological bully".
• Across these tracks, the vocals carry a painted-on smile, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."

An Opulent Banquet for the Soul

Lux is pop on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for high Art in an era of looming artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of sublime elevation, creating a dramatic drama that masterfully manages its built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep well of buried gems that requires time to fully explore but never seem like a chore. Where other big pop albums of 2025 felt like a meager scraps, Lux is a sumptuous banquet where the guests around the table, some tipsy on sacred wine, flutter between conversations about historical saints, the profound sensation of soul-shattering grief, and shared gossip about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from music's most endlessly creative practitioner.