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Initially, this work could seem more like an arduous academic quiz rather than a new popular music album from an artist who just had a previous single was a collaboration with an international K-pop icon. Broken into four distinct movements and voiced in thirteen tongues, it is a dizzying orchestral-influenced opus exploring feminine mystique, spiritual transcendence, and bodily transformation, frequently through the prism of different saintly figures. The end of a love affair—a theme treated with grounded honesty elsewhere—is launched skyward on this record, buoyed by the constant presence of a full symphony orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer within a vast roll call of collaborators. The pure ambition alone renders the work of other artists seem quite modest.

Rising Above Scholarly Exercise

That Lux manages to escape dry academic posturing is almost miraculous, with full credit going to Rosalía. While it's not the first time project to alchemize the past with the present, the stakes are far greater here, and the balancing act more precarious. What really raises her fourth album, beyond its multilayered tunes, dense compositions, and engrained theatricality, is an essential spirit of fun. Much like the iconic artist at her height, you find a captivating quality to Rosalía's singing which sweeps you up in its tornado. When she's tearing hearts in two, the listener still desire to stay alongside her for the journey.

A Prime Example of Joy

That exuberant spirit comes forth brightly during the stunning Italian song about a saint. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy over several minutes. Then, all the music falls away, to reveal we hear a gleeful laugh and a declaration before a comically over-the-top string surge thuds in with cartoonish force. The track immediately segues to the frenetic track featuring racing strings, a powerful choral group, and a surprise appearance from none other than herself.

"The magic of Lux lies in you rarely quite know—nor want to predict—where it will go next."

Almost each song concludes in a totally different place from how it started. One moment examines the fleeting trappings of celebrity with a delicate symphony only to disintegrating in electronic cacophony. Elsewhere, a song echoing the artist's previous rhythmic work starts off moody and sinister, featuring prowling beats, until fluttering traditional handclaps and a heavenly choir arrive to soften the song's rough edges.

The Balance Between Experiment & Pop

A key achievement of Lux is navigating the line between radical experimentation and broad appeal. This is no surprise that the album has become her first work to break into the upper reaches of major charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy hits. A song performed primarily in English swells around a refrain that feels to collect more and more nagging melodies as it spirals skyward. This trick is repeated on another powerful track that grows and constricts, intertwining layered melodies like an intricate weave.

• A dance-infused number charms with its playful, theatrical drama and an anthemic chorus.
• In its words, it aligns with pop culture impact of contemporary breakup anthems, eviscerating an ex- lover labeled an "psychological bully".
• Throughout the album, the singing have a painted-on edge, akin to a fairy-tale character hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of disappointment."

A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears

Lux is pop on a grand scale, a hungry reach for capital-A Art in an era of looming artificial blankness. It rejects self-absorption for glorious elevation, creating an over-the-top drama that skillfully controls its inherent excess. This is a deep source of buried treasure that requires time to completely explore but never seem like hard work. While some big releases of the year felt like feasting on scraps, this record is a sumptuous feast where the characters around it, perhaps intoxicated on holy wine, flit from conversations about historical figures, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared stories about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from pop's most restlessly creative practitioner.