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On the surface, Lux could seem closer to an arduous university quiz than the latest popular music record from a musician who just had a last single was a collaboration with a global pop star. Split across 4 different movements and voiced in thirteen tongues, we have a head-spinning classical-tinged opus exploring female mystique, religious transcendence, and physical change, often through the prism of various women saints. The end of a relationship—a topic treated with grounded openness elsewhere—is shot upwards here, supported by the lush presence of a major orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning composer within a vast list of contributors. Its sheer ambition alone makes the efforts of other artists look rather small.

Rising Above Scholarly Exercise

The fact that this album succeeds in transcend dry intellectual chin-stroking is almost miraculous, and complete credit belonging to the artist. While this is not her first project to blend historical sounds and the present, the ambitions feel much higher on Lux, with the tightrope walk far more pronounced. The element that really elevates her fourth release, beyond its multilayered melodies, dense arrangements, and engrained theatricality, is a core sense of fun. Much like the iconic artist during her peak, there is a wondrous sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener into its whirlwind. When she is tearing hearts in two, you nevertheless want to be right there for the journey.

A Prime Example of Exuberance

That playful spirit comes forth brightly on the stunning Italian song inspired by Saint Clare. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool over several moments. Then, all the music drops silent, to reveal we hear a gleeful laugh and a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated string crescendo thuds in like cartoonish impact. The track then segues into the frenetic single driven by racing orchestration, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than herself.

"The magic of Lux lies in the listener rarely exactly understand—nor want to predict—where you will go to next."

Nearly every song concludes at a completely different point from how it began. One moment explores the transient nature of celebrity with a delicate orchestration only to disintegrating in electronic cacophony. Another, a cut echoing her earlier rhythmic style starts out dark and brooding, with prowling beats, until sudden traditional rhythms and a heavenly chorus arrive to soften the song's jagged edges.

The Bridge Of Art & Accessibility

A key balancing act on the album is navigating the gap between radical innovation and broad accessibility. It is little surprise that the album has achieved the artist's first work to crack the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly undeniable pop songs. One track performed primarily in the English language builds on a chorus that feels to gather increasingly nagging melodies as it spins upward. This feat gets repeated by another powerful ballad that grows and constricts, intertwining layered melodies as an intricate weave.

• A waltz-like song seduces via its playful, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic hook.
• In its words, it aligns the pop culture honesty of other breakup anthems, lambasting an ex- lover labeled an "emotional terrorist".
• Across the album, the vocals carry a painted-on edge, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a knife: "Gold medal in being a scoundrel / You have won the trophy of letdown."

An Opulent Banquet for the Ears

This album is pop on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It rejects self-absorption for glorious transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that masterfully manages its own inherent excess. This is a deep source of hidden gems that requires time to completely explore but doesn't seem like a chore. Where some big releases of the year seemed like feasting on meal, this record offers a sumptuous banquet at which the characters at the table, some tipsy on sacred wine, flutter between discussions about historical figures, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and shared stories about hopeless partners. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from music's truly endlessly creative practitioner.