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At first glance, this work may look more like a challenging scholarly challenge rather than a new popular music record by an artist who just had a previous single was a collaboration with a global pop star. Split across 4 separate sections and voiced in 13 tongues, we have a head-spinning orchestral-influenced work that delves into female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and corporal change, frequently by way of the perspective of different saintly figures. The end of a relationship—a theme treated with grounded openness elsewhere—soars upwards here, supported by the constant presence of a major symphony orchestra and contributions from an award-winning composer within an extensive roll call of collaborators. The pure ambition by itself makes the work of other artists look rather small.

Rising Above Scholarly Exercise

The fact that this album manages to escape overly academic posturing feels nearly a miracle, and sole praise belonging to the artist. Although this is not her first album to fuse the past and the present, its ambitions are much higher on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more dramatic. The element that truly elevates this fourth release, outside of its multilayered melodies, dense compositions, and inherent theatricality, is an essential spirit of joy. Much like the iconic artist at her height, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener into its tornado. Even when she's tearing hearts apart, you still want to stay alongside her through the journey.

A Signature Example of Exuberance

This playful energy shines clearly during a stirring piano-led song about Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool over several minutes. Then, all the music drops away, to reveal we hear a spontaneous laugh followed by a comment before a hilariously exaggerated string surge thuds down like cartoonish force. The track immediately shifts to the frenetic single featuring galloping strings, a powerful choral group, and a surprise appearance from none other than herself.

"The magic of this album is that you rarely quite understand—nor wish to predict—where it will go to next."

Almost every track ends at a completely different point than where it began. One moment examines the transient trappings of fame over a featherlight orchestration before collapsing in electronic chaos. Another, a song echoing the artist's earlier rhythmic style starts off dark and brooding, with menacing beats, before sudden flamenco handclaps and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften its jagged edges.

The Bridge Of Art & Pop

Another crucial balancing act of Lux is straddling the line of radical experimentation and mainstream accessibility. It is no surprise that it has become the artist's first work to crack the upper reaches of major charts: at its core a collection of utterly catchy hits. A song performed primarily in the English language swells on a refrain that seems to gather increasingly infectious hooks while it spirals skyward. That trick gets repeated on another powerful ballad that grows and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies as a complex weave.

• A waltz-like number seduces via its jaunty, theatrical flair and an anthemic hook.
• In its words, it aligns the pop culture impact of other heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "emotional terrorist".
• Throughout the album, the singing have a sharp smile, like a storybook character hiding a blade: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You have the podium of disappointment."

A Maximalist Banquet for the Soul

Lux represents popular music on a grand scale, a hungry reach for capital-A artistry amid of looming AI-generated sameness. It rejects self-absorption for sublime elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that masterfully manages its own built-in ridiculousness. This is a deep well of hidden treasure that requires time to completely explore but never feels like hard work. While other major releases of the year felt like a meager meal, Lux is a sumptuous banquet at which the guests at the table, some intoxicated on holy wine, flutter between conversations about ancient saints, the profound feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from pop's most endlessly inventive practitioner.