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Initially, this work might appear closer to a challenging university examination than the latest pop album by a musician who just had a previous single featured a global pop icon. Broken across 4 distinct movements and voiced in 13 languages, we have a head-spinning symphonic opus exploring feminine mystique, spiritual ascent, and bodily transformation, frequently via the prism of different female saints. The dissolution of a love affair—a theme handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—is launched skyward on this record, supported by the lush sound of a major symphony orchestra and input from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter among a long list of collaborators. The pure ambition alone makes the efforts of other artists appear rather laughable.

Rising Above Academic Pretense

The fact that Lux succeeds in transcend dry academic posturing is nearly a miracle, with sole credit going to the artist. While this is not her first album to alchemize the past and modern styles, the stakes are far higher here, with the balancing act far more dramatic. What really elevates this fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, dense compositions, and engrained drama, proves to be an essential spirit of joy. Similar to the legendary artist at her height, there is a captivating quality to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener up in its tornado. When she is breaking hearts apart, you nevertheless want to stay alongside her for the ride.

A Prime Moment of Exuberance

That playful spirit comes forth clearly during the stirring piano-led ballad about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four moments. Suddenly, all the music drops silent, and there's a spontaneous giggle followed by a declaration before a comically exaggerated orchestral surge thuds down with cartoonish force. The song then shifts into the frenetic single featuring racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from the artist herself.

"The magic with this album is that the listener rarely quite know—or even wish to predict—what you will go to next."

Almost each track ends at a totally distinct point from how it started. A track examines the transient nature of fame over a delicate symphony only to collapsing into digital chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing the artist's earlier trap-infused style begins off dark and brooding, with menacing beats, before sudden flamenco handclaps and a heavenly choir enter to smooth its jagged edges.

The Bridge Between Experiment & Pop

A key balancing act on Lux involves navigating the gap of bold innovation and mainstream appeal. This is little surprise that it has achieved her first release to crack the upper reaches of key charts: at its core a collection of utterly undeniable hits. A song sung entirely in English builds on a refrain that feels to collect more and more infectious melodies while it spins upward. This feat is repeated by another expansive ballad that expands and contracts, weaving layered melodies like a complex weave.

• A waltz-like number seduces with its jaunty, theatrical drama and a chant-along chorus.
• In its words, it aligns the pop culture honesty of contemporary breakup anthems, lambasting a former partner described as an "psychological bully".
• Across the album, the vocals have a sharp edge, like a storybook character concealing a knife: "Gold medal in acting like a scoundrel / You've won the trophy of disappointment."

An Opulent Feast for the Ears

Lux represents popular music on a maximalist level, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry in an era of looming artificial blankness. It rejects solipsism for sublime elevation, crafting a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its built-in ridiculousness. This is an abundant source of hidden gems that takes patience to fully mine but never feels like hard work. Where some major pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on meal, Lux offers a sumptuous banquet at which the guests around the table, perhaps tipsy on holy wine, flit between conversations about ancient figures, the galvanizing sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and common stories about useless men. It is a contemporary musical from music's most restlessly creative practitioner.