At first glance, Lux could seem closer to a challenging university challenge than a new pop record from an artist who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Divided into 4 separate parts and performed in 13 tongues, it is a head-spinning classical-tinged album investigating feminine mystique, religious ascent, and bodily change, often through the prism of different women saints. The end of a romance—a topic handled with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—soars skyward here, buoyed by the lush presence of a major orchestra and work from an award-winning songwriter among a vast list of contributors. Its sheer daring alone makes the work of other pop stars appear rather laughable.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
The fact that Lux manages to avoid overly academic chin-stroking is almost miraculous, with full credit going to the artist. While it's not the first time album to alchemize historical sounds with modern styles, the ambitions are far higher here, and the tightrope walk more precarious. What truly elevates her fourth album, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and engrained drama, is a core spirit of joy. Similar to the iconic artist during her peak, there is a wondrous quality to the vocalist's voice which sweeps you into its whirlwind. When she's breaking your heart apart, you still desire to be alongside her for the ride.
A Signature Example of Joy
That exuberant spirit shines brightly on the stirring piano-led song inspired by a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four moments. Suddenly, everything falls away, and there's a spontaneous giggle and a comment before a comically over-the-top string crescendo thuds in with comedic force. The song then shifts into the frenetic track driven by racing strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo role from none other than herself.
"The charm with this album is that the listener rarely exactly understand—nor wish to predict—what you will go to next."
Almost every song concludes at a totally different place from where it started. A track explores the fleeting trappings of fame over a delicate orchestration only to disintegrating in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused style starts out dark and brooding, with prowling beats, until fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly choir arrive to smooth the song's jagged corners.
The Bridge Between Experiment & Pop
A key achievement of Lux is navigating the line of radical experimentation and broad appeal. It is little surprise that the album has become the artist's highest-charting release to break into the Top 5 of key markets: at its core a collection of utterly catchy pop songs. One track sung primarily in the English language swells on a refrain that seems to collect increasingly infectious melodies as it spirals upward. That feat gets repeated by another powerful ballad that expands and contracts, intertwining layered tunes as an intricate tapestry.
- A waltz-like number seduces via its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along chorus.
- In its words, it shares the pop culture impact of contemporary heartbreak anthems, eviscerating a former lover described as an "psychological terrorist".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on smile, akin to a fairy-tale figure hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
Lux represents popular music on a maximalist scale, an ambitious grasp for capital-A Art amid of impending artificial sameness. It rejects solipsism for glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top spectacle that masterfully controls its built-in ridiculousness. It is a deep source of hidden treasure that takes patience to fully explore but never seem like a chore. Where other big pop albums of the year felt like feasting on meal, Lux is a sumptuous feast at which the guests at it, perhaps intoxicated on holy drink, flit from conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about hopeless partners. It is a contemporary musical from music's truly restlessly creative visionary.
