At first glance, Lux could seem more like an arduous scholarly challenge rather than a new popular music album from a musician who just had a previous single was a collaboration with a global K-pop icon. Split across 4 separate parts and performed in 13 tongues, it is a head-spinning orchestral-influenced opus exploring feminine mystery, spiritual ascent, and physical transformation, frequently via the prism of various female saints. The end of a love affair—a theme handled with raw openness on another major 2025 album—soars upwards here, supported by the constant sound of a major orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a vast roll call of contributors. Its sheer daring by itself makes the work of contemporary pop stars look quite laughable.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That this album succeeds in escape overly academic posturing feels almost miraculous, and complete credit belonging to the artist. Although it's not her first project to alchemize historical sounds with modern styles, the stakes feel much greater here, with the tightrope walk more pronounced. The element that truly raises her fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and inherent theatricality, is a core sense of fun. Much like the legendary artist at her height, you find a wondrous quality to the vocalist's singing that pulls the listener up in its tornado. Even when she's tearing your heart apart, the listener nevertheless desire to be alongside her for the journey.
A Signature Example of Exuberance
This exuberant spirit comes forth brightly during a stirring Italian song inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched melancholy for more than four moments. Then, all the music drops away, to reveal there's a gleeful laugh and a declaration before a hilariously over-the-top string surge thuds in with cartoonish force. The track then shifts into the wild track featuring galloping strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The charm with this album lies in the listener never exactly know—or even want to predict—what you will go next."
Nearly every track finishes in a totally distinct point than how it started. A track examines the fleeting trappings of celebrity over a delicate symphony only to disintegrating in digital cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic work starts off dark and brooding, featuring prowling vocals, until sudden flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir arrive to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Bridge Of Art & Pop
A key balancing act of Lux is straddling the line between bold experimentation and mainstream appeal. It is no coincidence that the album has become the artist's first work to break into the Top 5 of key charts: its heart contains a suite of truly catchy pop songs. One track performed entirely in English builds around a refrain that seems to gather more and more nagging melodies as it spins skyward. This trick is echoed by a different powerful track that expands and contracts, intertwining layered tunes like a complex weave.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it shares the cultural honesty of other heartbreak anthems, eviscerating a former partner described as an "psychological bully".
- Throughout the album, the singing carry a painted-on smile, akin to a fairy-tale character concealing a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Ears
Lux is pop on a maximalist level, a hungry reach for high artistry in an era of looming AI-generated sameness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of glorious transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant source of buried gems that requires patience to fully mine but never feels like a chore. While some major releases of the year felt like a meager meal, this record is a sumptuous banquet at which the characters around the table, some intoxicated on sacred drink, flutter from conversations about historical saints, the profound feeling of soul-shattering sadness, and common stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from music's truly endlessly creative visionary.
