Our Leading Record of the Year: Rosalía's Masterpiece Secures the Top Place.

On the surface, this album might appear more like a challenging academic challenge than a new popular music project by an artist whose previous hit featured a global K-pop star. Split into four different parts and performed in 13 languages, this is a dizzying orchestral-influenced work that delves into female mystique, spiritual ascent, and corporal transformation, often through the perspective of different women saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic handled with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—is launched upwards here, supported by the lush presence of a full symphony orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer among a long list of contributors. The pure daring by itself renders the efforts of contemporary pop stars appear rather modest.

Transcending Scholarly Pretense

That this album succeeds in transcend overly intellectual posturing is nothing short of miraculous, and complete credit belonging to Rosalía. Although it's not the first time project to alchemize the past and modern styles, its scale feel much greater on Lux, with the tightrope walk more precarious. The element that truly raises this fourth release, outside of its complex tunes, rich arrangements, and inherent theatricality, proves to be an essential sense of fun. Similar to the iconic Björk during her peak, you find a wondrous quality to the vocalist's voice which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. When she is tearing hearts apart, you still want to be right there through the ride.

A Prime Moment of Exuberance

This exuberant spirit shines brightly on a stunning piano-led ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool over several moments. Suddenly, everything falls silent, and we hear a spontaneous giggle followed by a declaration before a comically exaggerated orchestral surge thuds down with comedic impact. The track immediately segues into the wild single driven by galloping strings, an imposing choir, and a surprise role from the artist Björk.

"The magic with this album lies in the listener never quite understand—nor want to predict—what it will go next."

Almost each track ends at a completely distinct point than how it began. A track examines the transient nature of fame with a delicate symphony only to disintegrating in digital chaos. Another, a song that recalls her earlier rhythmic work begins out dark and brooding, with prowling beats, before fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly choir enter to soften its jagged edges.

The Bridge Of Art and Accessibility

A key balancing act of Lux is navigating the gap of bold innovation and mainstream accessibility. This is little coincidence that the album has become the artist's first release to crack the Top 5 of major charts: at its core a collection of truly catchy hits. A song performed entirely in the English language swells on a chorus that feels to gather increasingly infectious hooks as it spins upward. This trick is repeated by another powerful track that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple tunes like a complex tapestry.

• A waltz-like number seduces via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
• In its words, it shares with pop culture honesty of other breakup songs, eviscerating a former partner described as an "emotional bully".
• Throughout these tracks, the singing carry a sharp edge, akin to a fairy-tale character concealing a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You have won the trophy of letdown."

A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears

This album is pop on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for capital-A artistry in an era of impending artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism for glorious elevation, creating a dramatic drama that masterfully manages its own inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of buried treasure that takes time to completely mine but never feels like a chore. Where other major pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, this record offers a lavish banquet at which the characters at the table, perhaps intoxicated on holy drink, flit from conversations about historical figures, the profound sensation of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about hopeless men. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from pop's most endlessly creative visionary.