🔗 Share this article

On the surface, this album could seem closer to a challenging academic quiz than the latest popular music album from a musician whose previous single was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Split across four distinct parts and performed in 13 tongues, this is a head-spinning orchestral-influenced work investigating female mystery, religious ascent, and corporal transformation, often via the prism of various women saints. The dissolution of a romance—a theme handled with raw openness elsewhere—soars upwards here, carried by the lush sound of a major orchestra and contributions from an award-winning songwriter within an extensive list of contributors. The pure ambition by itself makes the efforts of other pop stars appear rather laughable.

Rising Above Scholarly Exercise

The fact that Lux manages to transcend dry intellectual posturing feels almost miraculous, and complete credit belonging to Rosalía. Although this is not the first time project to fuse historical sounds with the present, the ambitions are far greater here, with the balancing act more precarious. The element that really elevates this fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and engrained theatricality, is an essential sense of joy. Similar to the iconic Björk during her height, you find a captivating sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener up in its whirlwind. When she is breaking hearts apart, you nevertheless want to stay alongside her for the journey.

A Signature Moment of Joy

That playful energy shines brightly during the stunning piano-led song inspired by a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy over several moments. Then, everything falls silent, to reveal there's a gleeful laugh and a declaration before a hilariously over-the-top string crescendo crashes down with comedic force. The track then segues into the frenetic single driven by galloping orchestration, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from the artist Björk.

"The charm with this album is that the listener rarely quite know—nor want to predict—where it will go to next."

Almost every song concludes in a completely different point than where it began. A track examines the fleeting trappings of celebrity with a delicate orchestration only to collapsing in digital chaos. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic work starts off dark and brooding, featuring menacing vocals, until fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly choir enter to soften its rough corners.

The Bridge Of Experiment and Accessibility

A key balancing act of the album involves navigating the line of bold innovation and broad appeal. It is no surprise that the album has achieved the artist's highest-charting work to crack the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a suite of utterly undeniable pop songs. A song performed primarily in the English language swells on a refrain that feels to gather more and more nagging hooks as it spins upward. That trick is echoed by another powerful ballad that grows and constricts, weaving multiple melodies like an intricate weave.

• A waltz-like number charms via its playful, theatrical flair and an anthemic hook.
• In its words, it shares the cultural honesty of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting a former partner described as an "psychological terrorist".
• Throughout these tracks, the vocals carry a painted-on smile, akin to a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."

A Maximalist Feast for the Soul

This album is pop on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for high Art in an era of impending artificial sameness. It rejects solipsism in favor of glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its inherent excess. This is a deep source of buried gems that takes time to completely explore but never seem like hard work. Where other major pop albums of 2025 seemed like feasting on meal, this record offers a lavish banquet at which the characters at the table, perhaps intoxicated on holy drink, flutter from conversations about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from pop's truly endlessly inventive practitioner.