On the surface, Lux could seem more like a difficult academic quiz than a new popular music project by an artist who just had a last hit was a collaboration with a global K-pop star. Broken across 4 distinct parts and sung in 13 languages, this is a dizzying symphonic opus exploring female mystique, religious transcendence, and physical change, often through the prism of different women saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic handled with grounded openness on another major 2025 album—is shot heavenward here, carried by the lush presence of a major symphony orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a long roll call of collaborators. The pure ambition alone renders the efforts of other artists look rather small.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
That Lux manages to avoid dry academic posturing is almost miraculous, with full praise going to the artist. While it's not her first album to blend historical sounds with the present, its stakes feel far greater on Lux, and the balancing act more pronounced. What truly elevates her fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, dense compositions, and inherent drama, is a core spirit of joy. Similar to the iconic artist during her height, you find a captivating quality to the vocalist's singing that pulls the listener into its tornado. When she's breaking your heart apart, the listener still desire to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
That playful spirit comes forth brightly on a stunning piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over several minutes. Suddenly, everything drops away, and there's a gleeful laugh followed by a comment prior to a comically exaggerated orchestral surge crashes in with comedic impact. The track then segues into the frenetic single driven by galloping strings, a powerful choir, and a surprise appearance from none other than Björk.
"The charm with this album lies in the listener rarely exactly know—nor want to know—what it is going next."
Nearly every track finishes at a completely different point than where it started. One moment explores the fleeting trappings of celebrity with a delicate orchestration before collapsing into electronic cacophony. Another, a cut that recalls the artist's previous trap-infused work starts out dark and sinister, with menacing vocals, until fluttering flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir enter to soften its rough edges.
The Balance Between Experiment & Accessibility
A key balancing act on Lux involves navigating the line of radical experimentation and mainstream appeal. It is little surprise that it has achieved the artist's first release to break into the upper reaches of key markets: at its core a collection of truly undeniable hits. One track sung primarily in the English language swells on a refrain that feels to collect more and more nagging melodies as it spins upward. This trick gets repeated by a different powerful track that expands and contracts, intertwining layered melodies as a complex tapestry.
- A waltz-like number charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares the pop culture impact of contemporary breakup anthems, eviscerating an ex- lover described as an "emotional bully".
- Throughout the album, the vocals carry a sharp smile, like a fairy-tale character concealing a blade: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You have the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
Lux is pop on a maximalist level, an ambitious grasp for capital-A artistry amid of impending AI-generated sameness. It eschews self-absorption in favor of glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its own inherent ridiculousness. It is a deep source of hidden gems that takes patience to fully mine but never feels like hard work. Where some major releases of the year seemed like feasting on meal, Lux offers a lavish feast where the characters at it, some intoxicated on sacred drink, flit from discussions about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common gossip about hopeless partners. It is a modern-day theatrical production from music's truly restlessly inventive practitioner.
