At first glance, this album might appear more like a difficult university quiz than a new popular music album by a musician whose last hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop star. Broken across four separate sections and performed in thirteen languages, it is a dizzying symphonic work that delves into female mystery, religious ascent, and bodily change, frequently by way of the prism of various women saints. The end of a love affair—a theme treated with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—is launched skyward here, buoyed by the constant presence of a full symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning composer within an extensive list of collaborators. The pure ambition alone makes the work of contemporary pop stars seem rather modest.
Rising Above Academic Exercise
The fact that this album manages to escape dry intellectual posturing is almost miraculous, and complete credit belonging to the artist. While it's not her first album to alchemize historical sounds and modern styles, its ambitions feel much higher here, with the tightrope walk more pronounced. The element that really raises this fourth album, outside of its multilayered melodies, rich compositions, and engrained theatricality, proves to be a core spirit of fun. Much like the legendary artist at her height, you find a wondrous quality to the vocalist's voice that pulls the listener into its tornado. Even when she is breaking hearts in two, you nevertheless desire to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Joy
This exuberant spirit shines clearly on a stirring piano-led ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool for more than four minutes. Then, all the music drops away, and we hear a spontaneous laugh and a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated orchestral crescendo crashes down with comedic force. The song then shifts to the wild single driven by galloping strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo appearance from the artist herself.
"The charm with this album is that the listener never exactly understand—or even want to know—what it will go next."
Nearly every song ends at a totally different place from where it started. One moment explores the transient nature of celebrity over a delicate symphony before collapsing in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing the artist's previous rhythmic work begins out moody and brooding, featuring menacing beats, before fluttering flamenco handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to smooth its rough corners.
The Balance Of Experiment and Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act on Lux is navigating the gap between bold experimentation and mainstream accessibility. This is no coincidence that the album has achieved her first work to crack the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable hits. A song sung primarily in English builds on a chorus that seems to collect more and more infectious melodies as it spins skyward. This trick gets echoed by a different powerful track that expands and contracts, intertwining layered melodies as a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like song seduces with its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it shares with cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, lambasting a former partner described as an "psychological bully".
- Across the album, the vocals carry a painted-on smile, like a fairy-tale figure concealing a blade: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You have the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
Lux represents popular music on a grand scale, a hungry reach for high Art in an era of looming artificial sameness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of sublime transcendence, crafting an over-the-top drama that skillfully controls its own inherent ridiculousness. This is a deep well of hidden gems that requires patience to completely explore but doesn't feels like hard work. Where some major releases of the year seemed like feasting on meal, Lux offers a lavish feast at which the guests at the table, some tipsy on holy wine, flutter from discussions about ancient figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and shared stories about hopeless men. It is a modern-day theatrical production from music's truly endlessly creative practitioner.
