On the surface, Lux might appear more like a difficult scholarly quiz than the latest pop project by a musician who just had a previous hit featured an international K-pop star. Split into four different sections and performed in 13 languages, it is a breathtaking classical-tinged work exploring female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and corporal change, frequently through the perspective of various women saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a theme treated with raw honesty elsewhere—soars heavenward here, supported by the lush sound of a major symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning composer within a long roll call of contributors. The pure daring alone renders the work of contemporary pop stars seem rather laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Pretense
The fact that Lux manages to avoid dry intellectual chin-stroking feels nearly miraculous, and complete praise going to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time album to fuse the past and the present, its stakes feel far greater here, with the balancing act far more dramatic. What truly raises this fourth album, beyond its multilayered tunes, dense compositions, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the iconic artist at her peak, there is a captivating quality to the vocalist's singing that pulls you up in its tornado. When she is breaking hearts apart, the listener nevertheless desire to stay right there for the journey.
A Prime Example of Joy
That playful spirit shines clearly during the stirring piano-led ballad about a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over several minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls away, and we hear a gleeful laugh and a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo crashes in like comedic impact. The song immediately shifts into the frenetic single featuring galloping orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a cameo appearance from none other than Björk.
"The charm with Lux is that the listener never quite understand—or even want to predict—what it will go to next."
Almost every song ends at a completely different point than where it began. A track explores the transient nature of celebrity over a delicate orchestration only to disintegrating in digital cacophony. Another, a song echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused style begins out dark and brooding, with prowling vocals, before sudden flamenco rhythms and an angelic choir arrive to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Balance Between Experiment and Pop
Another crucial balancing act of Lux is navigating the line of bold innovation and broad accessibility. It is no coincidence that the album has become her first work to crack the Top 5 of key charts: its heart contains a suite of truly catchy pop songs. One track performed entirely in English builds around a refrain that seems to gather more and more nagging hooks as it spirals upward. This feat gets echoed by a different powerful track that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple tunes as a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it shares with pop culture honesty of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating an ex- lover labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on edge, like a fairy-tale character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
This album is pop on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry amid of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism for sublime elevation, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully manages its inherent excess. It is an abundant source of hidden treasure that takes time to fully explore but never feels like hard work. While some major releases of 2025 seemed like feasting on meal, Lux is a sumptuous banquet at which the characters at it, perhaps tipsy on sacred wine, flit between conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about useless men. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from pop's most endlessly inventive practitioner.
