On the surface, this work could seem more like a difficult academic examination rather than a new popular music album from a musician who just had a last hit featured an international K-pop star. Split into 4 distinct parts and voiced in 13 languages, this is a head-spinning orchestral-influenced album exploring feminine mystique, spiritual transcendence, and corporal change, often through the lens of various saintly figures. The end of a romance—a topic treated with raw honesty on another major 2025 album—is shot upwards here, carried by the lush presence of a major orchestra and work from a Pulitzer-winning composer among a long list of contributors. Its sheer ambition by itself renders the efforts of other artists seem rather modest.
Transcending Academic Pretense
The fact that this album succeeds in transcend overly academic chin-stroking feels nearly a miracle, with complete credit belonging to Rosalía. While it's not the first time album to fuse historical sounds with the present, the scale are far greater here, and the balancing act far more precarious. The element that really raises this fourth release, outside of its multilayered tunes, rich arrangements, and inherent drama, is a core spirit of fun. Much like the iconic Björk during her peak, there is a captivating sense to Rosalía's singing which sweeps you up in its whirlwind. Even when she's tearing hearts apart, the listener still desire to be right there through the ride.
A Signature Moment of Joy
This playful spirit shines brightly on a stirring Italian ballad inspired by a saint. It bathes in a sorrowful melancholy for several minutes. Then, everything drops away, to reveal we hear a gleeful giggle followed by a declaration prior to a hilariously exaggerated orchestral crescendo crashes in with cartoonish force. The track immediately shifts into the frenetic track driven by galloping orchestration, an imposing choir, and a surprise appearance from none other than Björk.
"The charm of this album lies in the listener never exactly understand—or even want to predict—what you is going next."
Almost every song concludes at a completely different point than where it started. A track explores the fleeting nature of fame over a delicate symphony only to collapsing into digital cacophony. Another, a song echoing her previous trap-infused style starts off dark and brooding, with prowling beats, before fluttering traditional handclaps and an angelic chorus arrive to smooth the song's jagged edges.
The Balance Between Experiment & Accessibility
Another crucial balancing act of the album is navigating the gap between bold experimentation and broad accessibility. This is little coincidence that the album has become her first work to break into the Top 5 of key charts: its heart contains a suite of utterly undeniable pop songs. A song performed primarily in English builds on a chorus that seems to gather increasingly nagging hooks while it spirals upward. That feat is repeated on a different powerful ballad that expands and contracts, intertwining multiple melodies like a complex tapestry.
- A dance-infused song charms with its jaunty, Disney-adjacent flair and an anthemic hook.
- Lyrically, it aligns the pop culture impact of other heartbreak anthems, eviscerating a former partner labeled an "psychological bully".
- Across these tracks, the singing carry a sharp edge, like a storybook character concealing a knife: "Top prize in being a scoundrel / You have the podium of disappointment."
A Maximalist Banquet for the Ears
This album is pop on a maximalist scale, a hungry grasp for capital-A artistry amid of impending artificial blankness. It eschews solipsism in favor of sublime transcendence, creating a dramatic drama that skillfully manages its built-in excess. This is a deep well of buried gems that takes time to fully explore but doesn't feels like a chore. While other big pop albums of 2025 felt like a meager meal, this record is a sumptuous banquet where the characters around it, perhaps tipsy on sacred wine, flit from discussions about ancient saints, the profound feeling of heartbreaking grief, and shared gossip about useless men. In essence, it's a modern-day musical from music's most restlessly creative visionary.
