Grandiose, dramatic, passionate, with extraordinary soaring vocals, melodies and string arrangements, multi-lingual lyrics, the London Symphony Orchestra and with guests including Björk, the Catalan superstar’s fourth LP is a fabulous extravaganza, broadly themed around female saints through history, religion, sex and violence. Unlike previous albums such as Motomami and El Mal Querer, which variously mixed pop with hip-hop, flamenco, reggaeton and more, this is full-on operatic-classical pop with sudden flourishes of electronica. From the very beginning with impressive opener Sexo, Violencia y Llantas, this feels like very theatrical storytelling on a full-on dynamic scale. But there’s nothing predicable here. The switch into the more chamber-pop style of Reliquia is then joined by heavy striking drums and jittery electronica. Divinize has deliciously delicate vocals as the track moves between drama and intimacy. Porcelena has dark undertones of cinematic staccato cello and double bass, nightmarish strings swoons, but then mixes in kettledrums with hip-hop and rambling sections of Autotune. Mio Christo Piange Diamante very much feels like a stage musical, again with gorgeous singing. The lead single Berghain, strikingly over-the-top, is named after the famous Berlin nightclub notorious for sexual freedom, and includes her heroine Björk, as well as Yves Tumor mimicking Mike Tyson’s infamous “I’ll fuck you ‘til you love me” tirade over and over again. The album shifts dramatically like an epic adventure in tragedy and lust, triumph and passion. It’s not all serious, however, the simple waltz-time strut of La Perla pauses two-thirds of the way through with a gentle laugh and a talky section. Rosalía is constantly at play, experimenting in sounds and boundary-pushing range, traversing 13 languages, and reaching heights few, if any artists can. Mundo Nuevo has stirring brass and fabulous glassando swirls of string and voice. Two of the loveliest tracks in the later half are Sauvignon Blanc, and the closer Magnolias. By the end of the album, whether or not you understand all the lyrics (most of the YouTube videos come with English translations) it’s an exhausting, but flamboyantly beautiful, emotional journey, a tour de force of an release by a very special talent, and could be looked back as something of a landmark, not only for 2025, but perhaps this decade. Out on Columbia / Sony.
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