At first glance, this album could seem more like a challenging university quiz than the latest popular music project by an artist whose previous single was a collaboration with an international K-pop icon. Divided across 4 different movements and voiced in thirteen languages, we have a dizzying classical-tinged work exploring female mystique, religious transcendence, and bodily change, often by way of the lens of various female saints. The end of a love affair—a topic treated with raw openness elsewhere—is launched heavenward on this record, carried by the constant presence of a major orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer within a long roll call of collaborators. Its sheer ambition alone makes the work of other pop stars appear quite small.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
The fact that this album manages to avoid overly academic chin-stroking is nearly miraculous, with sole praise going to Rosalía. Although it's not her first album to fuse historical sounds and the present, its stakes feel much greater here, with the balancing act more precarious. What really elevates this fourth release, beyond its complex tunes, dense compositions, and engrained theatricality, proves to be an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the iconic artist at her height, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice that pulls you into its whirlwind. When she is tearing hearts in two, you still desire to stay right there for the journey.
A Signature Moment of Joy
This exuberant spirit shines clearly on the stunning piano-led ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four minutes. Then, all the music falls silent, and we hear a gleeful laugh followed by a comment prior to a comically exaggerated string crescendo crashes in with comedic force. The track immediately segues to the frenetic single driven by racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise role from the artist Björk.
"The charm with Lux lies in you never quite know—nor want to know—where it is going next."
Nearly every track ends at a totally distinct point from where it started. A track examines the fleeting nature of celebrity over a featherlight symphony before disintegrating into electronic chaos. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused work begins out moody and brooding, featuring menacing beats, before fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to smooth its rough edges.
The Balance Between Art & Pop
Another crucial achievement of Lux involves navigating the gap of bold innovation and broad appeal. It is no coincidence that it has achieved the artist's highest-charting release to break into the Top 5 of key markets: at its core a collection of truly undeniable hits. One track sung entirely in the English language swells around a refrain that seems to collect increasingly infectious hooks as it spirals skyward. That feat is echoed by a different expansive track that expands and contracts, weaving layered melodies like a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it aligns the cultural honesty of other heartbreak songs, lambasting an ex- partner labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Across these tracks, the singing carry a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook figure concealing a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Soul
This album is pop on a maximalist level, a hungry reach for capital-A artistry in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It rejects self-absorption for glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its own inherent ridiculousness. This is a deep well of buried treasure that requires time to completely explore but doesn't seem like a chore. While some big releases of the year felt like feasting on scraps, this record is a sumptuous banquet at which the guests around the table, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flutter from conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common gossip about useless men. It is a contemporary musical from pop's truly endlessly inventive practitioner.
