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Initially, Lux may look more like a difficult university challenge rather than the latest popular music record by a musician who just had a previous hit was a collaboration with a global pop icon. Split across 4 distinct movements and performed in 13 tongues, it is a breathtaking symphonic opus exploring female mystery, religious ascent, and bodily change, frequently by way of the lens of different female saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a topic treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—soars upwards on this record, buoyed by the lush sound of a full symphony orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer among an extensive list of contributors. Its sheer audacity by itself renders the work of contemporary pop stars look quite modest.

Rising Above Scholarly Pretense

That this album manages to escape dry academic chin-stroking is nothing short of a miracle, and sole credit belonging to Rosalía. While this is not her first album to blend historical sounds with the present, the stakes feel much greater here, and the tightrope walk far more dramatic. The element that really elevates her fourth release, beyond its complex tunes, dense compositions, and inherent theatricality, proves to be an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the iconic artist at her height, there is a captivating sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls the listener into its tornado. Even when she's breaking your heart in two, you still want to stay alongside her through the ride.

A Prime Example of Joy

That exuberant energy comes forth brightly during a stirring piano-led ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool over several minutes. Suddenly, everything falls away, and there's a gleeful laugh followed by a comment prior to a comically exaggerated string surge crashes in with cartoonish force. The song immediately shifts to the frenetic single driven by galloping strings, a powerful choir, and a surprise role from the artist herself.

"The charm of this album lies in you rarely quite know—or even wish to predict—where you will go to next."

Nearly each track concludes in a completely different place from where it started. One moment examines the transient trappings of fame over a featherlight symphony only to disintegrating into electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a song echoing her earlier rhythmic style begins off moody and brooding, with prowling beats, until sudden traditional rhythms and a heavenly chorus arrive to smooth its jagged corners.

The Balance Between Experiment and Accessibility

A key balancing act of Lux involves straddling the line between radical innovation and broad accessibility. It is little coincidence that it has become her highest-charting work to crack the Top 5 of key charts: at its core a collection of truly undeniable hits. A song sung entirely in English swells on a refrain that seems to gather increasingly infectious melodies while it spins upward. This feat gets repeated on a different powerful track that expands and constricts, weaving multiple tunes like an intricate weave.

• A dance-infused song charms via its jaunty, theatrical flair and a chant-along hook.
• Lyrically, it shares the pop culture honesty of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating a former lover labeled an "emotional terrorist".
• Throughout the album, the singing have a sharp smile, like a fairy-tale character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of letdown."

An Opulent Feast for the Ears

This album is pop on a grand level, an ambitious grasp for high artistry in an era of looming artificial sameness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of sublime transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that masterfully controls its own inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant well of buried gems that takes time to completely mine but never feels like hard work. Where other major pop albums of the year felt like feasting on meal, this record is a lavish banquet at which the guests around the table, perhaps intoxicated on sacred drink, flit from discussions about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common gossip about hopeless men. It is a contemporary theatrical production from pop's most restlessly inventive visionary.