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On the surface, this work may look closer to an arduous university quiz rather than the latest popular music album from an artist who just had a last single was a collaboration with an international K-pop icon. Broken across 4 distinct parts and performed in 13 tongues, we have a head-spinning symphonic opus exploring female mystery, spiritual ascent, and bodily change, often through the lens of different saintly figures. The end of a relationship—a topic treated with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot skyward on this record, buoyed by the constant sound of a major symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning songwriter within a vast list of collaborators. The pure audacity by itself renders the efforts of other artists look rather modest.

Rising Above Academic Exercise

That Lux succeeds in transcend overly academic chin-stroking feels nearly a miracle, with full credit belonging to Rosalía. While this is not the first time album to alchemize historical sounds with the present, its ambitions are far greater on Lux, and the tightrope walk far more pronounced. The element that really elevates her fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, rich arrangements, and inherent drama, proves to be a core sense of fun. Similar to the iconic artist at her height, there is a wondrous sense to the vocalist's singing which sweeps you into its whirlwind. Even when she is tearing your heart in two, you nevertheless want to be alongside her through the journey.

A Signature Moment of Exuberance

This playful spirit shines clearly on a stirring piano-led song about a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four minutes. Suddenly, everything drops away, and we hear a spontaneous giggle and a comment prior to a comically exaggerated string crescendo crashes down with cartoonish force. The song immediately segues into the wild single featuring galloping strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo appearance from the artist herself.

"The magic of this album lies in you rarely quite know—or even want to predict—where you is going next."

Almost each song ends at a totally different place from where it started. One moment explores the transient trappings of celebrity with a featherlight symphony before disintegrating into digital cacophony. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her earlier rhythmic style begins off moody and brooding, with menacing beats, until sudden flamenco rhythms and an angelic chorus enter to soften the song's rough edges.

The Bridge Of Art & Accessibility

Another crucial balancing act of the album is navigating the line between radical innovation and broad accessibility. It is no coincidence that it has become the artist's highest-charting release to crack the upper reaches of major markets: at its core a collection of truly catchy hits. A song sung primarily in English swells on a refrain that seems to gather increasingly infectious hooks while it spins upward. This feat gets echoed on another expansive ballad that expands and contracts, weaving multiple melodies as a complex weave.

• A dance-infused song charms with its playful, theatrical drama and an anthemic chorus.
• In its words, it shares the cultural honesty of contemporary heartbreak songs, lambasting a former partner described as an "psychological bully".
• Throughout the album, the vocals have a sharp edge, like a fairy-tale character concealing a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You have won the trophy of letdown."

An Opulent Feast for the Ears

This album is pop on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for high artistry in an era of looming artificial sameness. It rejects solipsism in favor of sublime elevation, creating an over-the-top drama that masterfully manages its inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant well of hidden treasure that requires time to completely explore but doesn't seem like hard work. Where other big releases of the year felt like a meager meal, this record offers a lavish feast at which the guests around the table, perhaps tipsy on holy drink, flutter from discussions about ancient saints, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared gossip about useless men. It is a contemporary musical from music's truly endlessly creative visionary.