🔗 Share this article

Initially, this work may look closer to a difficult academic quiz than a new popular music album by a musician who just had a last hit was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Divided across four separate sections and sung in 13 tongues, it is a head-spinning classical-tinged opus investigating feminine mystique, spiritual ascent, and physical transformation, frequently via the prism of different saintly figures. The end of a relationship—a topic treated with raw openness elsewhere—soars heavenward here, supported by the lush sound of a major symphony orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer among a vast roll call of contributors. Its sheer audacity alone makes the efforts of contemporary pop stars seem quite small.

Rising Above Academic Exercise

That this album succeeds in escape overly academic posturing feels nothing short of a miracle, with full praise going to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time project to fuse the past and the present, its stakes feel far greater here, with the balancing act far more dramatic. What truly elevates this fourth album, beyond its complex tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the legendary Björk during her peak, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps you up in its tornado. When she is tearing hearts in two, the listener still want to be alongside her for the journey.

A Prime Example of Joy

That playful energy comes forth clearly during the stirring Italian song about Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool for several minutes. Suddenly, everything drops away, and there's a spontaneous giggle and a comment prior to a hilariously over-the-top orchestral surge crashes in like comedic force. The song immediately shifts into the wild single driven by galloping orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise role from the artist Björk.

"The charm with Lux lies in you rarely quite understand—nor wish to predict—where it will go to next."

Almost every track finishes in a completely different point than where it began. One moment explores the transient trappings of fame over a featherlight orchestration before disintegrating in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused style begins off dark and sinister, with menacing vocals, before sudden traditional rhythms and an angelic choir enter to smooth its jagged edges.

The Bridge Between Art and Accessibility

A key balancing act of the album is straddling the line between radical experimentation and broad accessibility. It is no coincidence that it has become the artist's highest-charting work to crack the Top 5 of major markets: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy pop songs. One track sung primarily in English builds on a chorus that seems to collect increasingly infectious melodies as it spins skyward. This feat gets repeated on another powerful track that expands and constricts, intertwining multiple tunes like a complex weave.

• A dance-infused number charms with its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic hook.
• Lyrically, it shares the pop culture honesty of other breakup anthems, eviscerating a former lover labeled an "psychological terrorist".
• Across these tracks, the singing carry a painted-on smile, like a storybook figure concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of letdown."

A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul

This album is popular music on a maximalist level, an ambitious grasp for capital-A artistry amid of impending artificial sameness. It rejects solipsism for glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that skillfully controls its own built-in ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of buried gems that requires time to fully explore but doesn't seem like hard work. While other big pop albums of 2025 felt like a meager meal, this record is a lavish banquet at which the guests at it, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flutter from discussions about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common gossip about useless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from music's most endlessly inventive practitioner.