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At first glance, this work could seem more like a difficult university challenge rather than a new pop album by a musician who just had a previous single featured a global K-pop star. Divided across four different movements and sung in thirteen languages, we have a breathtaking orchestral-influenced work exploring female mystery, religious ascent, and physical change, frequently by way of the lens of different women saints. The end of a relationship—a theme treated with raw honesty elsewhere—is launched upwards on this record, buoyed by the lush sound of a full orchestra and work from an award-winning composer among a vast list of collaborators. Its sheer ambition alone makes the work of other artists look quite modest.

Rising Above Academic Pretense

That this album manages to escape dry intellectual chin-stroking feels almost a miracle, with full credit going to the artist. Although it's not her first album to alchemize historical sounds and modern styles, the ambitions are far greater here, with the tightrope walk far more pronounced. What really elevates this fourth release, outside of its complex tunes, dense arrangements, and engrained drama, is an essential sense of fun. Much like the legendary Björk at her height, there is a captivating sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener into its whirlwind. When she's breaking hearts apart, the listener still desire to stay alongside her through the journey.

A Signature Moment of Exuberance

This exuberant energy comes forth clearly during a stirring Italian ballad about Saint Clare. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool for more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops away, and there's a gleeful laugh followed by a comment prior to a hilariously exaggerated string surge crashes down like comedic force. The song then shifts into the frenetic single driven by racing strings, a powerful choir, and a cameo role from none other than herself.

"The magic with this album is that the listener rarely quite understand—or even wish to know—where you will go to next."

Nearly every track finishes at a totally different point than how it began. One moment examines the transient nature of fame over a featherlight symphony before disintegrating in digital cacophony. Another, a song echoing the artist's earlier rhythmic work begins out moody and sinister, featuring menacing vocals, until sudden traditional handclaps and a heavenly choir arrive to soften the song's jagged corners.

The Balance Of Art & Accessibility

A key achievement on the album is navigating the gap of bold experimentation and mainstream appeal. This is no coincidence that the album has become her highest-charting release to crack the upper reaches of key markets: at its core a suite of utterly catchy hits. One track performed primarily in the English language swells around a refrain that feels to collect more and more infectious melodies as it spins upward. That trick is echoed by another powerful ballad that grows and constricts, weaving layered tunes as a complex tapestry.

• A dance-infused song charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along chorus.
• In its words, it aligns the pop culture impact of other breakup songs, lambasting a former lover described as an "psychological bully".
• Across these tracks, the vocals have a sharp smile, like a storybook figure hiding a knife: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You have the podium of disappointment."

An Opulent Banquet for the Ears

This album represents pop on a grand scale, an ambitious grasp for high Art in an era of impending artificial sameness. It eschews self-absorption for glorious transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully controls its built-in excess. It is an abundant source of hidden gems that takes patience to fully explore but never seem like hard work. Where some big pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on scraps, Lux is a sumptuous banquet where the guests at the table, perhaps tipsy on sacred drink, flutter from discussions about ancient figures, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and common gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a modern-day theatrical production from pop's most endlessly inventive visionary.