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On the surface, Lux might appear closer to a challenging academic examination rather than the latest popular music project from a musician who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Broken into 4 separate movements and performed in 13 tongues, it is a dizzying orchestral-influenced opus investigating female mystery, spiritual ascent, and physical transformation, frequently by way of the prism of different female saints. The dissolution of a romance—a theme treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—soars skyward on this record, buoyed by the lush sound of a full orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among an extensive roll call of contributors. The pure audacity by itself makes the efforts of other artists appear quite small.

Rising Above Scholarly Pretense

That this album succeeds in transcend dry intellectual chin-stroking is nearly miraculous, with complete credit belonging to the artist. While it's not her first album to fuse historical sounds with the present, the ambitions feel far higher here, with the tightrope walk far more dramatic. The element that really elevates her fourth release, outside of its multilayered melodies, rich compositions, and inherent theatricality, is an essential sense of playfulness. Much like the legendary Björk during her peak, there is a wondrous quality to Rosalía's voice which sweeps you into its whirlwind. Even when she's breaking hearts in two, the listener nevertheless want to be right there for the journey.

A Prime Example of Exuberance

That exuberant energy shines clearly during the stunning piano-led song inspired by a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool for several minutes. Suddenly, all the music falls away, to reveal there's a gleeful laugh and a declaration prior to a hilariously over-the-top string crescendo crashes down like cartoonish force. The song immediately segues to the frenetic single featuring racing orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a cameo role from none other than herself.

"The charm with Lux lies in you never quite understand—or even want to know—where it will go next."

Nearly each song finishes in a totally different point than where it started. A track examines the fleeting nature of fame over a delicate orchestration before collapsing in digital chaos. Another, a song echoing her earlier trap-infused work starts off moody and sinister, featuring prowling vocals, before sudden flamenco handclaps and an angelic choir arrive to smooth its rough corners.

The Balance Between Art and Pop

Another crucial achievement on Lux is straddling the line of radical experimentation and broad appeal. It is no surprise that the album has become the artist's highest-charting release to break into the Top 5 of key markets: at its core a collection of utterly undeniable pop songs. One track performed entirely in the English language builds around a refrain that seems to gather increasingly infectious melodies while it spirals upward. This trick gets repeated on a different powerful ballad that expands and constricts, weaving layered tunes as a complex tapestry.

• A waltz-like number charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic hook.
• In its words, it shares with cultural honesty of contemporary breakup anthems, eviscerating a former lover described as an "emotional bully".
• Throughout the album, the vocals carry a painted-on edge, like a fairy-tale character hiding a knife: "Top prize in acting like a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of letdown."

An Opulent Feast for the Ears

This album is popular music on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for capital-A Art in an era of looming AI-generated blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of glorious transcendence, crafting an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully manages its inherent excess. It is an abundant source of hidden gems that takes patience to fully explore but never feels like hard work. Where some big releases of the year seemed like a meager scraps, Lux offers a lavish feast at which the guests around the table, some intoxicated on sacred wine, flit between conversations about historical figures, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's most endlessly inventive visionary.