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On the surface, this work may look more like an arduous scholarly quiz than the latest popular music record from an artist whose previous single featured an international pop icon. Divided into four separate parts and performed in 13 tongues, this is a head-spinning symphonic work investigating feminine mystique, spiritual transcendence, and bodily change, often via the prism of different women saints. The end of a love affair—a theme handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—is shot skyward on this record, buoyed by the constant sound of a major orchestra and input from an award-winning composer among an extensive roll call of contributors. Its sheer ambition alone makes the efforts of other artists seem rather small.

Rising Above Academic Exercise

The fact that this album succeeds in transcend overly academic posturing is almost miraculous, and sole praise going to Rosalía. While this is not her first album to alchemize historical sounds and modern styles, its ambitions feel far higher on Lux, with the balancing act more dramatic. What truly elevates this fourth album, outside of its complex tunes, dense compositions, and engrained drama, proves to be a core sense of joy. Similar to the legendary artist during her height, there is a captivating sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls you up in its whirlwind. Even when she is tearing hearts apart, the listener nevertheless want to stay alongside her for the journey.

A Prime Example of Exuberance

This exuberant spirit comes forth brightly on a stirring piano-led ballad about a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful whirlpool over several moments. Suddenly, all the music falls silent, and there's a gleeful laugh and a declaration before a hilariously over-the-top string surge crashes down with comedic impact. The song then shifts to the wild single driven by galloping strings, an imposing choir, and a cameo appearance from none other than Björk.

"The magic with Lux is that you never quite know—or even wish to know—what it will go to next."

Almost each track ends in a completely different place from how it began. One moment examines the fleeting nature of fame with a delicate symphony before collapsing in electronic cacophony. Another, a song echoing her previous rhythmic work starts off moody and sinister, with menacing vocals, until sudden flamenco rhythms and a heavenly chorus enter to soften its jagged edges.

The Balance Of Experiment and Pop

A key balancing act on Lux is straddling the line between radical experimentation and broad appeal. It is little coincidence that the album has achieved her first release to crack the upper reaches of key charts: its heart contains a collection of utterly catchy hits. A song performed entirely in English swells around a chorus that feels to collect increasingly infectious hooks while it spirals skyward. That feat is repeated on a different expansive track that expands and constricts, intertwining multiple tunes like a complex weave.

• A dance-infused number seduces with its playful, theatrical drama and a chant-along chorus.
• Lyrically, it shares the pop culture impact of contemporary breakup songs, lambasting a former lover labeled an "psychological bully".
• Throughout these tracks, the singing carry a painted-on smile, akin to a fairy-tale character concealing a blade: "Top prize in acting like a scoundrel / You have the podium of disappointment."

An Opulent Feast for the Soul

Lux represents popular music on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art amid of looming AI-generated blankness. It eschews solipsism for sublime elevation, creating a dramatic spectacle that skillfully manages its own inherent ridiculousness. It is an abundant well of buried treasure that requires patience to fully mine but doesn't feels like hard work. Where other big releases of the year seemed like a meager scraps, this record offers a lavish feast at which the guests at it, some tipsy on holy wine, flutter between conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary musical from music's truly endlessly inventive visionary.