At first glance, this album could seem closer to a difficult scholarly challenge rather than a new pop album by a musician who just had a previous hit featured an international K-pop icon. Broken into four distinct sections and sung in thirteen tongues, we have a head-spinning symphonic work exploring female mystique, spiritual transcendence, and corporal transformation, frequently through the prism of different saintly figures. The end of a romance—a topic handled with raw honesty elsewhere—soars heavenward here, buoyed by the constant presence of a major symphony orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning songwriter within an extensive list of contributors. Its sheer daring alone renders the efforts of other pop stars seem rather modest.
Transcending Scholarly Exercise
That this album manages to transcend dry academic chin-stroking feels almost miraculous, with full credit belonging to Rosalía. While this is not her first project to alchemize historical sounds with the present, the stakes feel much greater here, with the balancing act far more precarious. The element that truly raises her fourth album, beyond its complex tunes, dense arrangements, and inherent theatricality, is a core spirit of joy. Similar to the legendary artist during her peak, there is a captivating sense to the vocalist's singing that pulls you into its tornado. When she is breaking your heart apart, the listener nevertheless desire to be alongside her through the journey.
A Prime Moment of Exuberance
That playful spirit comes forth brightly on a stunning Italian ballad inspired by a saint. It luxuriates in a string-drenched whirlpool for several moments. Then, all the music drops silent, and there's a gleeful laugh and a declaration before a comically over-the-top string surge thuds in like cartoonish impact. The track then shifts to the wild track driven by racing strings, an imposing choral group, and a cameo role from the artist herself.
"The magic of this album is that you never exactly understand—or even wish to predict—where it will go to next."
Almost each song ends at a totally distinct point than where it started. A track explores the transient trappings of celebrity over a delicate orchestration before collapsing in electronic chaos. Elsewhere, a song that recalls the artist's earlier rhythmic work starts out moody and brooding, with menacing beats, before fluttering traditional rhythms and a heavenly choir arrive to soften its rough corners.
The Balance Between Art and Pop
Another crucial balancing act of the album involves straddling the line of bold innovation and broad accessibility. This is no coincidence that it has become her first work to break into the upper reaches of major charts: at its core a collection of truly catchy pop songs. A song performed primarily in English builds around a chorus that feels to collect increasingly nagging hooks while it spirals skyward. That feat gets echoed on another expansive ballad that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple tunes as an intricate weave.
- A dance-infused number charms via its playful, Disney-adjacent drama and an anthemic chorus.
- Lyrically, it shares with cultural impact of contemporary heartbreak songs, lambasting an ex- partner labeled an "psychological bully".
- Throughout these tracks, the vocals have a painted-on edge, akin to a storybook figure hiding a blade: "Gold medal in acting like a motherfucker / You've the podium of letdown."
A Maximalist Feast for the Soul
This album is pop on a grand level, an ambitious reach for capital-A Art in an era of impending AI-generated blankness. It rejects self-absorption in favor of sublime transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its built-in excess. It is a deep well of hidden gems that requires patience to completely mine but never seem like hard work. Where some big releases of 2025 seemed like a meager scraps, this record offers a sumptuous banquet where the guests at it, perhaps tipsy on holy wine, flutter between conversations about ancient saints, the profound sensation of heartbreaking sadness, and common gossip about useless men. It is a contemporary musical from pop's most restlessly inventive visionary.
