On the surface, this work could seem closer to a challenging university challenge rather than the latest pop project by an artist whose previous single was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Split across 4 different parts and performed in 13 languages, this is a dizzying classical-tinged opus investigating female mystery, spiritual ascent, and corporal change, frequently via the perspective of various women saints. The end of a romance—a topic handled with grounded honesty on another major 2025 album—soars heavenward on this record, supported by the lush presence of a major symphony orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within an extensive list of collaborators. Its sheer daring by itself makes the work of other artists look quite modest.
Transcending Academic Pretense
The fact that this album succeeds in avoid overly intellectual posturing feels almost miraculous, and sole praise belonging to the artist. Although this is not her first project to fuse the past and modern styles, the stakes feel far higher here, and the tightrope walk more precarious. What truly elevates this fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, dense compositions, and inherent drama, is an essential sense of fun. Much like the legendary Björk at her height, you find a wondrous quality to Rosalía's voice which sweeps you up in its tornado. Even when she is breaking hearts in two, the listener nevertheless desire to stay alongside her for the journey.
A Signature Moment of Joy
This exuberant spirit shines clearly on a stirring piano-led ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over several minutes. Then, everything falls away, and there's a spontaneous giggle and a comment before a comically over-the-top orchestral crescendo crashes in with cartoonish impact. The song immediately segues into the wild track featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a cameo role from the artist Björk.
"The charm of this album is that you rarely exactly know—or even wish to know—where you is going to next."
Almost every track concludes at a completely different point from how it began. A track explores the fleeting nature of celebrity over a featherlight orchestration before collapsing into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's earlier trap-infused work begins off dark and brooding, with menacing vocals, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and an angelic chorus enter to smooth its jagged edges.
The Balance Between Art & Pop
Another crucial achievement of the album is straddling the line between bold innovation and broad accessibility. This is no coincidence that the album has become the artist's first release to break into the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a collection of truly catchy hits. A song performed primarily in the English language swells on a refrain that feels to gather more and more infectious hooks as it spirals upward. This feat gets repeated on another expansive track that grows and constricts, weaving layered tunes like a complex weave.
- A waltz-like number seduces with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
- In its words, it shares the cultural honesty of contemporary breakup anthems, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing carry a sharp edge, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
This album is popular music on a maximalist scale, an ambitious reach for high Art in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews solipsism in favor of glorious elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep well of hidden gems that takes time to completely explore but doesn't seem like a chore. Where some big pop albums of 2025 seemed like a meager scraps, Lux is a lavish banquet where the characters around the table, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flit between discussions about historical saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and common stories about hopeless partners. It is a modern-day musical from music's most restlessly creative practitioner.
