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On the surface, Lux may look more like an arduous university quiz rather than the latest popular music record from a musician who just had a last single featured a global pop star. Broken into four distinct sections and performed in 13 languages, this is a breathtaking symphonic opus investigating female mystique, spiritual transcendence, and bodily change, frequently through the perspective of different women saints. The end of a love affair—a topic treated with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—is launched skyward on this record, supported by the lush presence of a major orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter among a long roll call of collaborators. The pure daring by itself renders the efforts of other artists look rather laughable.

Rising Above Scholarly Pretense

That this album manages to transcend overly intellectual posturing is almost a miracle, and sole praise belonging to Rosalía. While this is not her first project to blend the past and modern styles, the ambitions feel far higher here, with the balancing act far more pronounced. The element that truly raises her fourth release, outside of its complex melodies, rich compositions, and inherent drama, proves to be a core spirit of fun. Much like the legendary artist during her height, there is a wondrous quality to the vocalist's singing that pulls the listener up in its whirlwind. When she is tearing hearts apart, you nevertheless desire to be alongside her for the ride.

A Prime Moment of Joy

That exuberant energy shines clearly on the stirring Italian ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy for several moments. Then, all the music falls away, and there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a comment before a hilariously over-the-top string crescendo crashes in like comedic force. The song immediately segues into the wild track driven by galloping orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a surprise role from the artist Björk.

"The charm of this album is that you rarely quite understand—nor want to know—where you is going to next."

Nearly each song finishes in a completely distinct place than where it began. A track explores the fleeting trappings of celebrity over a delicate orchestration only to collapsing in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing the artist's earlier rhythmic style begins off dark and sinister, featuring prowling vocals, until fluttering flamenco rhythms and an angelic chorus enter to smooth the song's jagged edges.

The Balance Of Experiment and Pop

A key achievement on Lux is navigating the gap between radical innovation and broad appeal. This is no surprise that it has achieved the artist's first work to crack the Top 5 of major markets: at its core a suite of truly undeniable hits. A song performed entirely in the English language builds around a chorus that feels to gather increasingly nagging melodies as it spirals upward. That feat gets repeated on a different expansive ballad that expands and constricts, intertwining multiple melodies as a complex weave.

• A waltz-like number seduces via its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic chorus.
• Lyrically, it shares the pop culture impact of other heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former lover labeled an "emotional bully".
• Throughout the album, the vocals carry a sharp edge, akin to a fairy-tale figure concealing a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of letdown."

An Opulent Banquet for the Ears

This album represents popular music on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of impending artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of sublime transcendence, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its own built-in excess. It is a deep well of hidden treasure that takes time to completely mine but doesn't feels like a chore. While other big pop albums of 2025 seemed like a meager scraps, this record offers a sumptuous banquet at which the characters around it, some tipsy on sacred drink, flutter between conversations about ancient saints, the profound sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and shared stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from music's truly restlessly inventive practitioner.