At first glance, Lux may look closer to a difficult university examination rather than a new pop record from an artist who just had a last hit was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Split across four different sections and performed in 13 tongues, we have a dizzying classical-tinged album exploring feminine mystique, spiritual transcendence, and physical change, often via the perspective of various women saints. The end of a romance—a topic handled with grounded honesty on another major 2025 album—is shot upwards on this record, carried by the constant presence of a full symphony orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter among a vast list of collaborators. The pure ambition alone makes the work of contemporary artists look rather laughable.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that Lux succeeds in avoid dry intellectual posturing feels nothing short of miraculous, with complete praise belonging to the artist. Although it's not the first time album to alchemize historical sounds with the present, the ambitions feel much greater here, and the tightrope walk more precarious. The element that really raises this fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, dense compositions, and inherent drama, is an essential spirit of fun. Much like the legendary artist during her height, you find a wondrous quality to the vocalist's singing that pulls the listener up in its tornado. When she is tearing your heart apart, you still desire to stay alongside her for the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
That playful spirit comes forth clearly on the stunning Italian ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four minutes. Then, all the music falls away, to reveal we hear a gleeful laugh followed by a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo crashes down like comedic force. The track then segues to the wild single featuring galloping orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a surprise role from the artist Björk.
"The charm with this album is that the listener never quite understand—nor wish to predict—what you is going next."
Almost every song ends at a completely different point from how it started. One moment explores the fleeting trappings of fame over a featherlight symphony only to disintegrating into electronic chaos. Another, a cut echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused style starts out dark and brooding, with menacing beats, before sudden flamenco handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to smooth the song's rough edges.
The Bridge Between Experiment and Pop
A key achievement of the album involves navigating the gap of radical experimentation and broad appeal. This is no coincidence that it has become the artist's first release to crack the Top 5 of key markets: at its core a suite of utterly undeniable pop songs. One track performed entirely in English builds around a chorus that feels to gather increasingly nagging melodies as it spins skyward. This trick gets repeated on another powerful track that expands and constricts, weaving layered melodies as an intricate tapestry.
- A dance-infused song seduces via its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares with pop culture impact of other heartbreak songs, lambasting an ex- partner described as an "psychological bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the singing have a sharp smile, like a fairy-tale character hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a motherfucker / You've won the trophy of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
Lux represents popular music on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for capital-A artistry in an era of looming artificial sameness. It eschews solipsism for glorious transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its own inherent ridiculousness. This is a deep source of hidden treasure that requires patience to completely mine but never seem like hard work. While other major releases of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, Lux is a sumptuous banquet at which the guests around it, some intoxicated on holy wine, flit from conversations about historical figures, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and shared stories about hopeless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from pop's most endlessly inventive visionary.
