🔗 Share this article

On the surface, this album could seem closer to a challenging academic quiz than the latest pop record from an artist who just had a last hit featured an international pop star. Split across four distinct parts and sung in 13 languages, this is a dizzying classical-tinged album investigating female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and corporal transformation, frequently via the prism of various women saints. The dissolution of a romance—a theme treated with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—soars skyward here, supported by the lush sound of a full orchestra and input from an award-winning composer within a long list of contributors. The pure audacity alone renders the efforts of contemporary pop stars appear rather modest.

Transcending Scholarly Pretense

That Lux manages to transcend dry intellectual posturing feels nearly miraculous, with complete praise going to Rosalía. Although this is not the first time project to blend the past and the present, the stakes are much higher here, and the balancing act far more pronounced. What truly elevates her fourth album, beyond its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and inherent drama, proves to be an essential sense of playfulness. Similar to the legendary Björk at her height, you find a captivating quality to the vocalist's singing that pulls you up in its whirlwind. When she is breaking your heart apart, you nevertheless desire to stay alongside her through the journey.

A Prime Moment of Exuberance

That playful energy comes forth brightly on a stirring Italian song about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for several moments. Suddenly, all the music drops away, and there's a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration before a hilariously over-the-top string surge thuds in with cartoonish force. The song then segues to the wild single driven by racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than Björk.

"The magic with this album is that you rarely quite know—nor want to predict—where you will go to next."

Nearly every track concludes in a completely distinct place than where it began. A track examines the fleeting nature of celebrity over a featherlight orchestration only to disintegrating into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic style starts out dark and sinister, with prowling beats, until sudden flamenco handclaps and a heavenly choir arrive to smooth the song's jagged edges.

The Balance Of Art & Pop

A key achievement of the album involves straddling the line of bold innovation and mainstream appeal. It is little coincidence that the album has become her highest-charting release to break into the Top 5 of key markets: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable pop songs. One track performed primarily in the English language builds on a refrain that seems to collect increasingly nagging hooks as it spins upward. That feat gets echoed by a different powerful ballad that grows and constricts, weaving multiple tunes like a complex tapestry.

• A waltz-like number seduces via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic hook.
• In its words, it shares the cultural impact of other heartbreak songs, lambasting an ex- lover described as an "psychological bully".
• Across the album, the vocals carry a sharp smile, like a storybook character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You have the podium of letdown."

An Opulent Banquet for the Ears

This album represents pop on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for high artistry in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of sublime elevation, crafting a dramatic spectacle that skillfully manages its built-in excess. This is a deep source of hidden gems that takes patience to completely explore but never seem like hard work. Where other big releases of 2025 seemed like feasting on scraps, this record is a sumptuous banquet at which the guests at the table, some tipsy on sacred wine, flutter between discussions about ancient figures, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about hopeless men. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's most restlessly creative practitioner.