On the surface, this album may look closer to a challenging university examination than a new pop record by a musician whose last hit was a collaboration with a global pop star. Divided across four distinct parts and sung in 13 languages, this is a dizzying orchestral-influenced album investigating female mystique, religious transcendence, and bodily change, frequently via the prism of different saintly figures. The end of a relationship—a theme treated with grounded openness elsewhere—soars skyward on this record, supported by the constant presence of a full symphony orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among an extensive roll call of contributors. The pure audacity alone renders the efforts of other artists appear quite laughable.
Rising Above Academic Pretense
That this album succeeds in escape overly academic chin-stroking is nothing short of a miracle, with complete praise going to the artist. While this is not her first album to alchemize the past and modern styles, the ambitions feel much higher on Lux, with the balancing act more precarious. The element that truly elevates this fourth release, beyond its multilayered melodies, rich arrangements, and inherent theatricality, is an essential spirit of joy. Much like the iconic Björk during her peak, there is a captivating quality to the vocalist's singing which sweeps you up in its whirlwind. Even when she's tearing your heart in two, the listener still want to be alongside her for the journey.
A Signature Example of Joy
This exuberant spirit shines clearly during the stunning piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over more than four moments. Then, all the music falls away, and we hear a gleeful laugh followed by a declaration prior to a comically exaggerated orchestral crescendo thuds in like cartoonish force. The song then segues into the wild single driven by galloping strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo appearance from none other than Björk.
"The charm of Lux lies in you never exactly know—or even want to predict—what it will go next."
Almost every track ends at a completely distinct point from where it started. One moment explores the fleeting trappings of fame with a delicate symphony only to disintegrating in digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's previous trap-infused style starts out moody and sinister, with prowling beats, until sudden traditional handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften the song's jagged corners.
The Balance Of Art and Pop
A key balancing act of Lux is navigating the gap between radical experimentation and broad accessibility. This is no surprise that the album has achieved her highest-charting work to break into the upper reaches of major charts: at its core a suite of truly undeniable pop songs. One track performed entirely in the English language swells around a refrain that seems to collect more and more nagging hooks as it spins skyward. This trick is echoed on another expansive ballad that grows and contracts, intertwining layered melodies as a complex weave.
- A dance-infused song charms with its playful, theatrical drama and an anthemic chorus.
- In its words, it shares with pop culture impact of contemporary heartbreak anthems, lambasting a former partner described as an "emotional terrorist".
- Across the album, the singing carry a sharp edge, like a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of disappointment."
An Opulent Banquet for the Ears
Lux is popular music on a maximalist scale, a hungry reach for capital-A artistry in an era of impending artificial blankness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of glorious transcendence, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully manages its own inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant well of hidden treasure that takes time to fully mine but doesn't seem like hard work. Where other major releases of 2025 seemed like a meager scraps, this record is a sumptuous banquet at which the guests around it, some tipsy on sacred drink, flutter from conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared gossip about useless partners. It is a modern-day musical from pop's truly endlessly creative practitioner.
