🔗 Share this article Our Leading Release of the Year: Rosalía's Masterpiece Claims the Top Spot. On the surface, this work might appear closer to an arduous scholarly quiz rather than a new popular music album from a musician whose previous single was a collaboration with an international K-pop star. Broken across four different movements and sung in 13 languages, this is a head-spinning classical-tinged album investigating feminine mystery, religious transcendence, and corporal change, often by way of the perspective of various saintly figures. The dissolution of a relationship—a topic handled with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—is shot skyward here, supported by the lush presence of a full orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a vast roll call of collaborators. The pure ambition by itself makes the efforts of other artists look rather small. Rising Above Scholarly Pretense The fact that Lux manages to escape overly academic chin-stroking feels nearly miraculous, and sole credit belonging to Rosalía. Although this is not the first time album to alchemize the past and modern styles, the scale feel far higher here, and the tightrope walk far more pronounced. The element that truly raises her fourth album, beyond its complex tunes, dense compositions, and engrained drama, proves to be a core spirit of fun. Much like the iconic Björk at her height, you find a captivating sense to the vocalist's voice which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. When she's tearing your heart apart, you nevertheless want to be right there through the journey. A Prime Example of Joy This exuberant energy shines brightly during a stirring piano-led ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool over several minutes. Then, everything falls away, to reveal there's a spontaneous giggle and a comment before a comically over-the-top orchestral surge thuds down with cartoonish impact. The track immediately segues into the wild single driven by racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo appearance from the artist herself. "The charm of Lux is that you rarely exactly know—or even wish to know—what you will go to next." Nearly every track finishes at a completely distinct point from how it started. One moment explores the fleeting nature of celebrity over a featherlight symphony before collapsing into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused work starts out moody and sinister, featuring menacing vocals, until fluttering traditional handclaps and an angelic choir arrive to soften the song's jagged corners. The Bridge Between Experiment and Pop A key balancing act of the album is navigating the gap between radical innovation and mainstream appeal. This is no surprise that it has achieved her highest-charting work to break into the Top 5 of major markets: at its core a collection of utterly undeniable pop songs. A song sung entirely in English builds on a refrain that feels to collect more and more nagging melodies while it spins upward. This trick is repeated by a different expansive track that grows and contracts, weaving multiple melodies as a complex weave. A dance-infused song seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic chorus. In its words, it aligns the cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, lambasting a former lover labeled an "emotional bully". Across these tracks, the vocals carry a sharp smile, akin to a storybook character concealing a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of letdown." A Maximalist Feast for the Soul This album is popular music on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for high artistry amid of looming artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of sublime transcendence, crafting a dramatic spectacle that skillfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. This is a deep source of buried treasure that requires patience to completely explore but doesn't seem like hard work. Where other big releases of the year seemed like a meager scraps, Lux is a lavish banquet at which the characters at the table, perhaps intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter between conversations about ancient saints, the profound sensation of soul-shattering sadness, and common stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from pop's truly restlessly inventive visionary.