🔗 Share this article

On the surface, this album may look more like an arduous university quiz than a new pop record by an artist whose previous hit featured a global pop star. Broken into four distinct parts and sung in thirteen tongues, it is a dizzying symphonic work exploring female mystique, religious transcendence, and bodily transformation, frequently through the lens of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic handled with grounded openness elsewhere—is launched heavenward here, supported by the constant sound of a full symphony orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning composer among an extensive list of contributors. Its sheer audacity by itself makes the work of other pop stars seem rather laughable.

Rising Above Academic Exercise

The fact that Lux succeeds in avoid dry intellectual chin-stroking is nearly miraculous, with sole credit going to Rosalía. While this is not the first time album to blend the past with the present, its stakes are far greater here, with the tightrope walk far more dramatic. What really raises this fourth release, beyond its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is a core spirit of joy. Similar to the iconic Björk during her height, there is a captivating sense to the vocalist's voice which sweeps you into its tornado. When she's tearing your heart apart, you nevertheless want to stay alongside her for the journey.

A Prime Example of Joy

That playful energy shines clearly on the stunning Italian song inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy for several moments. Then, all the music falls silent, and there's a gleeful giggle and a comment before a comically over-the-top string surge crashes in like cartoonish impact. The track immediately segues into the frenetic single driven by galloping strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from the artist herself.

"The magic with this album is that the listener rarely exactly know—or even want to know—where you is going next."

Nearly every track ends at a completely different place from where it started. A track examines the fleeting trappings of fame with a delicate symphony before collapsing into digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's previous rhythmic work begins off dark and brooding, with menacing beats, until fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly choir enter to soften the song's rough corners.

The Balance Between Art and Accessibility

Another crucial balancing act on the album is straddling the gap between radical innovation and broad appeal. It is no coincidence that the album has become the artist's highest-charting release to break into the Top 5 of major charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable hits. One track performed primarily in English swells around a chorus that feels to gather increasingly nagging melodies while it spins skyward. This trick gets echoed by a different powerful track that expands and contracts, weaving layered tunes as an intricate weave.

• A waltz-like song seduces with its playful, theatrical flair and a chant-along hook.
• In its words, it aligns the pop culture honesty of other heartbreak songs, lambasting a former lover described as an "psychological terrorist".
• Throughout the album, the vocals have a painted-on smile, like a storybook figure concealing a knife: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You have the podium of disappointment."

An Opulent Banquet for the Ears

This album represents popular music on a maximalist level, an ambitious grasp for capital-A Art amid of impending artificial sameness. It rejects solipsism for glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top drama that skillfully controls its inherent ridiculousness. It is a deep well of hidden treasure that requires patience to fully explore but never seem like hard work. While some big releases of 2025 felt like a meager meal, Lux offers a sumptuous feast at which the characters at it, some tipsy on sacred wine, flutter from discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and shared gossip about hopeless partners. It is a modern-day theatrical production from music's truly endlessly inventive visionary.