At first glance, this work may look more like a difficult university examination than a new popular music album by an artist whose previous hit was a collaboration with an international pop star. Broken into four distinct sections and sung in 13 tongues, we have a breathtaking classical-tinged opus that delves into feminine mystery, religious transcendence, and physical change, frequently via the lens of various women saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic handled with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—soars upwards on this record, supported by the constant sound of a full symphony orchestra and contributions from an award-winning songwriter within a long roll call of contributors. Its sheer daring by itself makes the efforts of contemporary artists look rather small.
Rising Above Scholarly Pretense
That this album succeeds in transcend dry academic chin-stroking is almost a miracle, and sole credit going to the artist. While this is not her first project to alchemize historical sounds and the present, the stakes feel far higher here, and the tightrope walk more precarious. What really raises her fourth release, beyond its complex melodies, dense compositions, and engrained drama, proves to be an essential sense of fun. Similar to the iconic artist at her peak, you find a captivating quality to the vocalist's singing which sweeps you into its whirlwind. Even when she is tearing your heart apart, you nevertheless desire to be alongside her through the journey.
A Signature Example of Exuberance
This exuberant spirit comes forth clearly on the stunning piano-led song about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy over more than four moments. Then, everything falls away, to reveal there's a gleeful laugh followed by a comment before a comically exaggerated string crescendo crashes in like comedic force. The track then shifts into the wild single driven by racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a cameo role from none other than Björk.
"The charm with this album is that you never quite understand—or even want to predict—what you is going to next."
Nearly every track ends in a completely different place from where it started. One moment explores the fleeting nature of celebrity with a delicate orchestration only to collapsing into digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused style starts out dark and sinister, featuring prowling beats, until fluttering traditional handclaps and an angelic chorus enter to smooth the song's jagged edges.
The Bridge Between Experiment and Pop
A key balancing act of Lux involves straddling the line of radical innovation and broad accessibility. It is little surprise that the album has achieved the artist's first release to crack the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a suite of truly catchy hits. A song performed entirely in English swells on a refrain that feels to gather more and more infectious hooks as it spins skyward. This feat gets echoed on another expansive track that expands and constricts, weaving layered tunes as a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and a chant-along hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former lover labeled an "emotional bully".
- Across these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on smile, like a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul
Lux is pop on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for high artistry amid of impending AI-generated blankness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious elevation, creating a dramatic spectacle that skillfully manages its built-in ridiculousness. This is a deep well of buried gems that takes time to completely mine but never seem like hard work. While other major releases of 2025 felt like feasting on meal, Lux is a lavish banquet where the characters at it, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flit between conversations about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common stories about hopeless men. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from music's truly restlessly creative practitioner.
