On the surface, this album may look closer to a difficult academic quiz rather than a new pop record from an artist who just had a last hit was a collaboration with an international pop icon. Split across four separate movements and performed in 13 tongues, we have a dizzying symphonic album investigating female mystery, religious transcendence, and corporal transformation, often through the lens of different female saints. The end of a relationship—a topic treated with grounded openness elsewhere—soars upwards here, buoyed by the lush sound of a major symphony orchestra and input from an award-winning composer among an extensive list of collaborators. Its sheer ambition alone renders the work of other artists appear quite laughable.
Rising Above Scholarly Exercise
That this album manages to avoid overly intellectual chin-stroking feels nearly miraculous, with complete credit belonging to Rosalía. While this is not her first album to alchemize historical sounds and modern styles, its ambitions feel far higher here, and the balancing act far more dramatic. The element that truly raises her fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, dense arrangements, and inherent drama, is an essential spirit of playfulness. Similar to the legendary Björk at her height, you find a wondrous sense to Rosalía's voice which sweeps the listener into its tornado. When she is tearing hearts in two, you still desire to stay alongside her through the ride.
A Prime Example of Exuberance
This exuberant spirit comes forth brightly on the stirring Italian ballad inspired by Saint Clare. It luxuriates in a sorrowful melancholy for more than four minutes. Suddenly, all the music drops away, and we hear a spontaneous laugh followed by a declaration prior to a comically over-the-top orchestral surge crashes down with comedic impact. The song then segues into the wild track driven by racing strings, a powerful choral group, and a cameo role from the artist Björk.
"The magic of this album lies in you rarely quite know—nor want to predict—where you is going to next."
Almost each track concludes in a totally different place from where it started. One moment examines the transient trappings of celebrity with a delicate orchestration before collapsing in electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a song echoing her earlier trap-infused work starts off dark and brooding, featuring prowling beats, before sudden flamenco rhythms and a heavenly choir enter to soften its rough edges.
The Balance Between Experiment & Accessibility
A key achievement on the album involves navigating the gap of radical experimentation and broad accessibility. This is no surprise that it has achieved her highest-charting work to break into the upper reaches of major markets: its heart contains a collection of truly undeniable pop songs. A song sung primarily in English swells around a refrain that seems to gather increasingly nagging hooks while it spirals upward. That feat gets echoed by another powerful track that grows and constricts, weaving layered tunes as an intricate weave.
- A waltz-like number seduces via its jaunty, theatrical drama and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the cultural honesty of contemporary breakup songs, eviscerating a former lover labeled an "emotional terrorist".
- Across the album, the vocals have a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook character hiding a blade: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You've the podium of letdown."
An Opulent Feast for the Soul
This album represents pop on a grand scale, a hungry grasp for high Art in an era of impending artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of glorious transcendence, creating a dramatic spectacle that skillfully manages its built-in excess. This is an abundant well of buried treasure that takes time to completely explore but never seem like a chore. Where some major pop albums of the year seemed like feasting on meal, this record is a lavish banquet at which the characters at the table, perhaps tipsy on sacred wine, flutter between conversations about historical saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking sadness, and common gossip about hopeless men. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from pop's truly endlessly inventive visionary.
