On the surface, this work might appear more like an arduous university examination than the latest popular music record from a musician who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international pop star. Split across four separate sections and performed in thirteen tongues, this is a dizzying symphonic album investigating feminine mystery, religious transcendence, and bodily transformation, frequently by way of the perspective of various saintly figures. The end of a romance—a topic handled with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot heavenward on this record, buoyed by the lush sound of a major symphony orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer within a long list of contributors. The pure audacity by itself makes the efforts of other pop stars appear rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
That this album manages to transcend overly intellectual posturing is nearly a miracle, and sole credit going to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time album to alchemize the past and the present, the scale are far greater here, with the tightrope walk far more pronounced. What truly elevates her fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, rich compositions, and engrained theatricality, proves to be a core spirit of joy. Similar to the iconic artist during her peak, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. Even when she's breaking your heart in two, the listener nevertheless want to be alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Joy
This exuberant spirit comes forth clearly on the stirring piano-led song about Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over several minutes. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh and a declaration prior to a comically exaggerated orchestral crescendo crashes down with cartoonish impact. The track then shifts into the frenetic single featuring galloping strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from the artist Björk.
"The magic of this album lies in you rarely exactly understand—or even want to predict—where you is going to next."
Nearly every song ends in a completely different point from how it began. One moment explores the transient trappings of fame with a delicate symphony only to collapsing into electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her earlier trap-infused style begins off moody and sinister, featuring prowling vocals, before sudden traditional rhythms and an angelic choir arrive to smooth its jagged edges.
The Bridge Between Experiment and Pop
Another crucial achievement on the album is navigating the gap between radical innovation and broad accessibility. This is little surprise that it has achieved the artist's highest-charting work to break into the upper reaches of major charts: at its core a collection of truly undeniable hits. A song sung primarily in the English language swells around a chorus that seems to gather increasingly nagging hooks as it spirals skyward. This feat gets repeated on another expansive track that grows and constricts, weaving layered melodies as a complex weave.
- A waltz-like number seduces via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it shares with pop culture impact of contemporary heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former partner described as an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing carry a sharp edge, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
This album represents popular music on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for high artistry amid of looming artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that masterfully manages its own inherent excess. This is an abundant source of hidden gems that requires time to completely explore but never seem like a chore. Where other big pop albums of 2025 felt like feasting on scraps, Lux is a lavish banquet at which the characters around it, some intoxicated on holy wine, flit between conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common gossip about useless men. It is a modern-day musical from music's most endlessly creative practitioner.
