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At first glance, this album may look closer to a challenging academic quiz rather than the latest pop album from an artist whose previous hit was a collaboration with a global K-pop star. Broken across 4 separate parts and sung in thirteen languages, this is a breathtaking orchestral-influenced opus that delves into female mystery, spiritual ascent, and physical change, often via the prism of different female saints. The end of a romance—a topic treated with raw honesty elsewhere—soars upwards on this record, buoyed by the constant presence of a major orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a long roll call of contributors. Its sheer ambition alone makes the work of other pop stars appear rather laughable.

Rising Above Scholarly Exercise

That this album succeeds in escape overly academic chin-stroking is almost a miracle, and full credit going to Rosalía. While this is not the first time album to alchemize the past and the present, its stakes are much greater here, with the tightrope walk far more precarious. What truly raises this fourth album, beyond its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and inherent drama, is an essential spirit of joy. Similar to the iconic artist at her height, you find a wondrous quality to the vocalist's voice which sweeps you into its whirlwind. Even when she is breaking hearts apart, the listener still want to stay right there through the journey.

A Prime Moment of Joy

This exuberant energy comes forth brightly on the stirring Italian song about a saint. It bathes in a string-drenched whirlpool for several moments. Then, all the music falls away, to reveal there's a spontaneous giggle and a comment before a hilariously exaggerated orchestral surge crashes in like cartoonish impact. The track immediately segues into the frenetic single featuring racing orchestration, an imposing choral group, and a surprise appearance from none other than herself.

"The charm of this album lies in you never quite know—nor wish to know—where you will go to next."

Nearly every song finishes at a totally different place than how it began. One moment examines the transient trappings of fame with a delicate orchestration before collapsing in digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut that recalls her earlier trap-infused work starts out dark and brooding, with menacing beats, before sudden traditional rhythms and an angelic chorus enter to soften its jagged corners.

The Balance Between Art and Pop

A key achievement on Lux is straddling the gap between bold innovation and broad accessibility. This is no coincidence that the album has become the artist's highest-charting release to crack the Top 5 of key charts: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. A song performed primarily in the English language builds around a refrain that seems to gather increasingly infectious hooks as it spins upward. This trick gets repeated by a different powerful ballad that grows and constricts, weaving layered tunes like a complex tapestry.

• A dance-infused song charms via its jaunty, theatrical drama and an anthemic hook.
• In its words, it aligns the pop culture impact of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting a former partner labeled an "psychological terrorist".
• Throughout the album, the vocals have a sharp edge, like a storybook figure concealing a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You have the podium of disappointment."

An Opulent Banquet for the Soul

This album is pop on a grand scale, a hungry reach for high artistry in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It rejects solipsism in favor of glorious transcendence, crafting an over-the-top drama that skillfully controls its inherent ridiculousness. This is a deep well of buried treasure that takes time to fully mine but doesn't seem like a chore. While other major pop albums of the year felt like a meager meal, Lux offers a sumptuous feast at which the characters at the table, perhaps tipsy on holy drink, flutter from conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of soul-shattering grief, and common stories about useless men. It is a modern-day musical from music's truly restlessly inventive visionary.