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On the surface, this album might appear closer to an arduous academic challenge than a new pop project from an artist who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with an international K-pop icon. Divided into four different movements and sung in 13 languages, we have a head-spinning orchestral-influenced album exploring feminine mystery, religious transcendence, and physical change, frequently through the lens of different saintly figures. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme handled with raw openness on another major 2025 album—is launched heavenward here, carried by the lush presence of a full orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning composer within an extensive roll call of collaborators. Its sheer daring by itself renders the work of other artists look rather small.

Transcending Scholarly Exercise

That Lux succeeds in avoid overly academic chin-stroking feels almost a miracle, and complete credit belonging to the artist. While this is not the first time project to fuse historical sounds and modern styles, the ambitions feel far greater here, with the balancing act more precarious. What really elevates this fourth album, outside of its complex melodies, dense arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Much like the legendary artist during her peak, you find a captivating quality to the vocalist's singing that pulls you into its tornado. Even when she's breaking hearts apart, you nevertheless want to stay alongside her through the ride.

A Prime Moment of Exuberance

This playful spirit comes forth clearly on the stunning piano-led ballad inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy over several minutes. Suddenly, everything falls away, and there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a comment before a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo thuds down like cartoonish impact. The track then shifts to the frenetic track featuring racing orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from the artist herself.

"The charm of this album lies in you never quite understand—or even want to know—what it is going to next."

Almost each track ends at a totally distinct point than how it began. A track examines the transient nature of celebrity with a featherlight symphony before collapsing into electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused work starts out dark and sinister, with menacing vocals, before fluttering traditional handclaps and an angelic chorus enter to soften its jagged corners.

The Balance Between Art & Accessibility

A key balancing act on Lux involves straddling the gap of radical experimentation and broad appeal. This is no coincidence that it has achieved the artist's highest-charting work to crack the Top 5 of key markets: at its core a suite of utterly catchy pop songs. One track performed entirely in the English language builds around a chorus that feels to collect more and more nagging melodies while it spirals upward. That trick gets repeated on another powerful track that grows and contracts, weaving multiple tunes as an intricate tapestry.

• A waltz-like number charms with its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic hook.
• Lyrically, it shares the cultural impact of other breakup songs, lambasting a former partner described as an "psychological terrorist".
• Across these tracks, the singing have a painted-on edge, akin to a fairy-tale figure concealing a blade: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You have the podium of letdown."

A Maximalist Feast for the Soul

This album is popular music on a grand level, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of looming artificial sameness. It rejects solipsism in favor of glorious elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully controls its built-in excess. This is an abundant source of hidden gems that takes time to fully mine but never feels like a chore. While other big pop albums of the year felt like feasting on scraps, this record is a sumptuous feast where the guests at the table, perhaps intoxicated on sacred wine, flutter between discussions about ancient figures, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from pop's truly restlessly inventive visionary.