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At first glance, this album may look closer to an arduous university challenge than a new popular music album by a musician who just had a previous hit featured an international pop star. Split into four different movements and performed in thirteen languages, this is a breathtaking classical-tinged work that delves into female mystery, spiritual transcendence, and corporal change, frequently through the perspective of different female saints. The dissolution of a relationship—a topic handled with grounded honesty elsewhere—is shot upwards here, carried by the lush sound of a major orchestra and contributions from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within a vast roll call of contributors. The pure ambition alone makes the efforts of contemporary pop stars seem rather modest.

Transcending Scholarly Exercise

That Lux manages to avoid dry intellectual posturing is nothing short of a miracle, with complete credit going to the artist. Although this is not the first time album to fuse historical sounds with the present, its scale feel far higher here, with the tightrope walk more precarious. What really raises her fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich compositions, and inherent drama, is a core sense of joy. Much like the iconic Björk at her peak, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's singing that pulls you up in its whirlwind. Even when she's tearing your heart apart, you still want to be right there through the ride.

A Signature Moment of Exuberance

This playful spirit comes forth brightly on the stunning piano-led ballad about Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful whirlpool for more than four minutes. Then, all the music falls silent, and we hear a gleeful giggle and a declaration before a hilariously exaggerated string surge crashes down like comedic impact. The track then shifts to the wild single driven by racing orchestration, a powerful choral group, and a surprise appearance from none other than herself.

"The magic with Lux is that you never quite know—or even want to know—where you will go next."

Almost every track concludes in a completely distinct place from where it started. A track explores the transient nature of celebrity with a featherlight orchestration only to collapsing in electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a cut echoing her earlier rhythmic work starts out moody and brooding, with prowling beats, before sudden flamenco rhythms and a heavenly chorus enter to soften the song's rough edges.

The Balance Of Art and Accessibility

Another crucial achievement on Lux is navigating the gap of radical experimentation and broad accessibility. This is little coincidence that the album has become her first work to crack the Top 5 of major markets: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. A song performed primarily in the English language swells around a refrain that seems to gather more and more infectious hooks as it spins upward. This feat is echoed by another powerful ballad that expands and constricts, weaving layered tunes as a complex weave.

• A dance-infused song charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and a chant-along hook.
• In its words, it shares the pop culture honesty of contemporary heartbreak songs, eviscerating an ex- lover labeled an "psychological terrorist".
• Across the album, the singing carry a sharp smile, like a fairy-tale figure hiding a blade: "Gold medal in being a motherfucker / You have won the trophy of disappointment."

An Opulent Banquet for the Ears

This album represents popular music on a grand scale, an ambitious reach for high Art amid of looming artificial sameness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of glorious transcendence, creating an over-the-top spectacle that skillfully controls its inherent ridiculousness. This is an abundant source of hidden treasure that takes time to fully explore but never feels like hard work. Where other big pop albums of the year felt like a meager scraps, Lux is a sumptuous feast where the guests around the table, perhaps tipsy on holy drink, flutter from conversations about historical saints, the galvanizing sensation of soul-shattering grief, and shared stories about useless men. In essence, it's a contemporary theatrical production from pop's most endlessly inventive practitioner.