On the surface, this album might appear closer to an arduous scholarly challenge rather than the latest popular music album from a musician who just had a previous single featured a global pop icon. Divided into 4 different parts and voiced in thirteen languages, it is a breathtaking symphonic work investigating feminine mystique, spiritual ascent, and corporal transformation, frequently via the lens of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a romance—a topic handled with raw honesty elsewhere—is launched skyward on this record, supported by the lush sound of a full orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter among a long list of collaborators. Its sheer audacity by itself renders the work of contemporary artists appear rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
That this album manages to transcend overly academic posturing feels nothing short of miraculous, and sole praise going to the artist. Although this is not the first time project to fuse the past and the present, the scale feel far greater here, with the balancing act more dramatic. What really raises her fourth release, beyond its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and inherent drama, is a core spirit of joy. Similar to the iconic artist at her peak, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. Even when she's tearing your heart apart, you nevertheless desire to be right there through the ride.
A Prime Moment of Joy
This exuberant energy shines clearly on a stirring piano-led ballad inspired by a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy for several minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls away, to reveal we hear a spontaneous laugh followed by a declaration prior to a comically exaggerated orchestral surge thuds in like cartoonish impact. The track immediately segues to the frenetic single driven by galloping orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise role from the artist herself.
"The charm with this album lies in the listener never exactly know—or even want to know—what it will go next."
Almost each song finishes at a completely distinct place from where it began. One moment examines the transient trappings of fame over a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused work starts off dark and sinister, featuring menacing beats, before sudden flamenco rhythms and an angelic chorus arrive to smooth its jagged corners.
The Balance Between Experiment and Pop
A key achievement on the album is navigating the line between radical innovation and broad appeal. It is no surprise that it has become the artist's first release to crack the upper reaches of key markets: at its core a suite of truly catchy pop songs. One track performed entirely in the English language swells on a refrain that feels to gather increasingly infectious melodies as it spins skyward. This trick gets repeated by another expansive track that grows and constricts, intertwining layered melodies like an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused number seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it aligns with pop culture honesty of other breakup songs, eviscerating a former lover labeled an "psychological bully".
- Across the album, the singing carry a sharp edge, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
Lux is popular music on a maximalist scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of looming artificial sameness. It rejects solipsism for glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of buried treasure that requires time to fully mine but never seem like hard work. While some big releases of 2025 felt like a meager meal, Lux is a sumptuous banquet where the characters around it, perhaps intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter between discussions about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and shared stories about useless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from music's most endlessly inventive visionary.
