🔗 Share this article Our Leading Record of the Year: RosalÃa's Masterpiece Takes the Number One Place. On the surface, this work may look closer to a challenging academic examination than the latest pop album by an artist whose last single was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Broken into four different sections and sung in 13 tongues, we have a breathtaking orchestral-influenced album investigating feminine mystique, spiritual ascent, and corporal change, often through the perspective of different women saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic handled with grounded honesty on another major 2025 album—soars skyward on this record, supported by the constant sound of a major orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a vast list of collaborators. The pure ambition alone renders the efforts of other artists look quite modest. Transcending Academic Pretense The fact that Lux manages to escape dry academic chin-stroking is nothing short of a miracle, with full credit belonging to RosalÃa. Although this is not the first time project to blend the past with the present, its ambitions are far higher here, and the tightrope walk more precarious. The element that truly elevates her fourth release, outside of its complex melodies, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, proves to be an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the legendary Björk at her peak, you find a captivating sense to the vocalist's voice which sweeps the listener into its tornado. Even when she is breaking your heart apart, you still want to stay alongside her for the journey. A Signature Example of Joy That exuberant energy comes forth brightly during a stirring piano-led ballad inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for several moments. Then, everything drops away, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh and a declaration prior to a hilariously over-the-top string surge thuds in with comedic force. The track immediately segues into the wild single driven by racing strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo appearance from the artist herself. "The charm with this album is that the listener never exactly understand—or even wish to predict—where it will go to next." Almost every track finishes at a completely distinct point than where it began. One moment examines the fleeting trappings of celebrity with a delicate orchestration only to collapsing into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing the artist's previous trap-infused work starts out dark and brooding, with menacing vocals, before sudden flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir enter to soften its jagged edges. The Balance Of Art and Accessibility Another crucial achievement of the album is navigating the line of bold experimentation and broad appeal. This is no surprise that it has achieved her first release to crack the upper reaches of key markets: at its core a collection of utterly undeniable pop songs. One track performed entirely in English builds on a refrain that seems to gather more and more infectious melodies as it spirals skyward. This trick gets echoed on a different powerful ballad that expands and constricts, intertwining layered tunes like an intricate tapestry. A dance-infused song seduces via its playful, theatrical drama and an anthemic hook. In its words, it shares with cultural honesty of other breakup songs, eviscerating an ex- lover described as an "emotional bully". Across the album, the singing carry a painted-on edge, like a fairy-tale character concealing a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have the podium of disappointment." A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul Lux is pop on a grand level, a hungry grasp for high artistry amid of looming artificial blankness. It eschews self-absorption for sublime elevation, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its own built-in excess. This is a deep well of buried gems that takes patience to completely explore but never seem like a chore. While other major releases of 2025 seemed like a meager scraps, this record offers a lavish banquet where the characters at it, some tipsy on holy drink, flutter from conversations about ancient figures, the profound feeling of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's truly restlessly creative practitioner.