At first glance, this album may look more like an arduous university challenge than a new pop record by an artist who just had a previous hit featured a global pop star. Divided into four different parts and performed in 13 tongues, we have a dizzying orchestral-influenced album that delves into feminine mystery, spiritual transcendence, and physical change, often by way of the lens of different saintly figures. The end of a romance—a topic handled with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—soars upwards here, buoyed by the constant presence of a major orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a vast roll call of contributors. Its sheer daring by itself renders the efforts of other pop stars appear rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
The fact that this album manages to avoid overly intellectual posturing is almost a miracle, with complete praise going to the artist. While it's not her first project to blend historical sounds with modern styles, the stakes are far higher on Lux, with the balancing act far more pronounced. The element that really raises her fourth album, beyond its multilayered tunes, dense arrangements, and inherent theatricality, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the legendary Björk at her peak, you find a wondrous quality to the vocalist's singing which sweeps the listener up in its whirlwind. When she's breaking hearts apart, you nevertheless desire to be right there through the ride.
A Signature Example of Joy
That exuberant energy shines brightly on a stirring piano-led song inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for more than four moments. Then, everything falls away, to reveal there's a spontaneous laugh and a comment prior to a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo crashes in with cartoonish impact. The track then segues to the wild single driven by racing strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from none other than herself.
"The magic with Lux is that the listener never quite understand—nor want to predict—what it will go to next."
Almost every song finishes in a totally different place than where it began. One moment explores the transient trappings of fame over a featherlight symphony only to collapsing into digital cacophony. Another, a song that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused style starts out dark and brooding, featuring prowling vocals, until sudden flamenco rhythms and a heavenly chorus arrive to smooth the song's rough corners.
The Balance Of Art and Pop
A key achievement on Lux involves straddling the line between radical experimentation and broad appeal. This is little coincidence that it has achieved the artist's first work to break into the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a suite of truly undeniable pop songs. A song performed entirely in English swells on a refrain that feels to collect increasingly infectious melodies while it spirals upward. This feat gets repeated on a different expansive track that expands and contracts, intertwining layered tunes like an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms via its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it shares the pop culture honesty of contemporary breakup anthems, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout the album, the vocals have a painted-on edge, like a fairy-tale figure concealing a knife: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
This album is pop on a grand scale, an ambitious grasp for high artistry in an era of looming artificial sameness. It rejects self-absorption for sublime transcendence, creating an over-the-top drama that skillfully controls its own built-in excess. It is an abundant source of buried treasure that takes patience to fully mine but never feels like hard work. While some major pop albums of 2025 felt like a meager meal, Lux is a lavish banquet where the guests around the table, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flutter between discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about useless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's most restlessly creative practitioner.
