On the surface, this work might appear closer to a difficult scholarly quiz rather than the latest popular music project from a musician who just had a previous hit featured a global pop star. Divided into four different sections and voiced in thirteen tongues, it is a breathtaking classical-tinged work exploring female mystery, religious ascent, and corporal transformation, often by way of the prism of various women saints. The dissolution of a romance—a topic treated with raw openness elsewhere—is launched skyward here, buoyed by the constant presence of a major orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning composer among an extensive roll call of contributors. Its sheer daring by itself renders the work of contemporary pop stars appear rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that this album manages to escape dry intellectual chin-stroking is nothing short of a miracle, and complete praise belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not her first project to alchemize historical sounds with the present, its stakes are much higher here, with the tightrope walk more precarious. What truly elevates her fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, proves to be a core spirit of joy. Similar to the legendary Björk during her peak, you find a captivating sense to the vocalist's singing that pulls the listener into its tornado. When she is breaking hearts in two, you still want to be right there through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That exuberant spirit shines brightly during a stunning piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four minutes. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal there's a spontaneous giggle and a declaration prior to a comically exaggerated orchestral crescendo crashes in with comedic force. The track immediately shifts into the frenetic track featuring racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The charm of this album lies in you rarely quite understand—nor want to predict—what you is going to next."
Nearly every song ends in a completely distinct point than how it started. A track explores the fleeting nature of fame over a featherlight symphony only to disintegrating in digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her earlier trap-infused work starts out dark and brooding, with prowling vocals, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir enter to soften the song's rough edges.
The Balance Between Experiment & Pop
A key achievement on the album involves straddling the line of radical experimentation and broad appeal. This is no coincidence that the album has achieved her highest-charting release to break into the Top 5 of major charts: at its core a suite of utterly catchy hits. One track sung entirely in English builds around a chorus that seems to gather more and more infectious melodies while it spins upward. That trick is repeated by another powerful track that grows and constricts, weaving multiple tunes like a complex weave.
- A dance-infused song seduces via its jaunty, theatrical flair and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the pop culture honesty of other heartbreak anthems, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook figure concealing a blade: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You have the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
Lux is pop on a maximalist level, an ambitious reach for high artistry amid of looming AI-generated blankness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of sublime transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully manages its own inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of buried gems that takes time to completely explore but never feels like a chore. Where some big releases of 2025 seemed like a meager scraps, this record offers a lavish feast where the characters at the table, some intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter between discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from music's truly endlessly creative practitioner.
