Our Top Record of the Year: Rosalía's Masterpiece Secures the Premier Position.

At first glance, this album might appear more like a challenging university quiz rather than the latest popular music record by an artist whose previous single was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Broken into 4 different movements and performed in 13 languages, this is a dizzying classical-tinged album that delves into female mystique, religious ascent, and corporal change, often by way of the perspective of various female saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme handled with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—is launched heavenward here, carried by the lush presence of a major symphony orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer among a vast roll call of collaborators. Its sheer ambition by itself renders the efforts of contemporary artists seem rather modest.

Rising Above Scholarly Pretense

That this album manages to transcend dry intellectual chin-stroking feels almost a miracle, with full praise belonging to the artist. Although it's not the first time project to blend the past with modern styles, the scale feel far higher on Lux, and the tightrope walk more dramatic. The element that really raises this fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, rich arrangements, and inherent drama, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the iconic Björk at her peak, you find a wondrous quality to the vocalist's voice that pulls the listener up in its tornado. Even when she is tearing your heart apart, you nevertheless desire to stay right there for the ride.

A Signature Moment of Joy

That playful spirit comes forth clearly on the stirring Italian ballad about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for more than four moments. Suddenly, everything falls away, to reveal there's a gleeful laugh followed by a comment before a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo thuds down with comedic force. The track immediately shifts to the frenetic track featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choir, and a surprise role from the artist herself.

"The charm of Lux lies in the listener rarely quite know—nor wish to predict—what you will go next."

Nearly each track concludes at a totally distinct place from how it began. A track explores the transient nature of fame with a featherlight orchestration before collapsing in electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a song that recalls her previous rhythmic work begins off dark and brooding, with menacing vocals, until fluttering traditional rhythms and an angelic chorus enter to soften the song's rough edges.

The Bridge Between Experiment and Pop

A key balancing act of the album is navigating the line between bold innovation and mainstream appeal. It is little surprise that it has become her highest-charting work to break into the Top 5 of major charts: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. One track performed entirely in English builds on a refrain that feels to collect more and more infectious melodies while it spins skyward. That feat is repeated on a different powerful track that grows and constricts, weaving layered melodies as an intricate weave.

• A dance-infused number charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic chorus.
• Lyrically, it shares with cultural impact of other heartbreak songs, eviscerating an ex- partner described as an "emotional bully".
• Across the album, the singing carry a sharp smile, like a storybook character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of letdown."

A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears

This album is pop on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for capital-A artistry in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It rejects solipsism in favor of glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully controls its own inherent excess. It is an abundant well of buried gems that requires time to completely explore but doesn't seem like hard work. Where other major pop albums of 2025 seemed like feasting on meal, Lux is a lavish banquet at which the characters at the table, some intoxicated on sacred wine, flit from discussions about historical figures, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and common gossip about hopeless men. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's most restlessly creative visionary.