Marriage of Figaro <\/em>on her sound system while meeting fans on her way to the opulent Plaza Callao. Normally, a moment like that would feel slight, mundane, and almost unremarkable, but somehow those couple of seconds \u2014 a modern-day pop star at the wheel, whirring through frenzied intersections with one of music\u2019s most lasting compositions backing her every move \u2014 captures the entire ethos of her masterful new album.<\/p>\n\n\tLet\u2019s be clear: Lux<\/em> sounds like absolutely nothing else in music right now, and it\u2019s an album no other pop star could have made. Rosalia, by now, has proven herself to be pop\u2019s most provocative chaos agent, having released radical projects like El Mal Querer<\/em>, which played with flamenco traditions and pop genres, and Motomami<\/em>, an exploration of femininity through sharp-eyed production and reggaeton beats. Yet Lux <\/em>feels like her most atonishing offer yet, packed with history and decades of training that let her tie classical sounds, opera references, and 13 different languages into one gorgeous, gutting package that feels like a truly timeless work of art.<\/p>\n\n\tLike anything she does, Lux<\/em> is already surrounded by controversy and contention. The first single, a baroque spectacle called \u201cBerghain,\u201d complete with a thudding organ, a dramatic choir, operatic vocals in German, and cameos from Bjork and Yves Tumor, immediately divided classical music fans, many who were quick to disavow Rosalia\u2019s efforts as \u201ckitsch.\u201d But Rosalia has never been a purist in any genre, and her goal has always been to land a feeling using whatever tools at her disposal. And she has a lot<\/em> of tools, given that she\u2019s a trained conservatory musician \u2014 she famously studied vocal flamenco performance at <\/strong>the Catalonia College of Music (ESMUC) <\/strong>in Barcelona, which usually accepts only one student per year, and has spoken about how her curriculum included <\/strong>everything from Chopin to Ella Fitzgerald. But she also has a rebellious streak, and part of the irreverence is what makes the Lux <\/em>such a shock to the system \u2014 she\u2019s drawing from the greats but of course this isn\u2019t a classical album; she\u2019s going for Mozart with baddie energy, Bach with a blunt in the mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n
\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
\n\tAnd ultimately, the album succeeds because every song is deeply thought out and wildly heartfelt, tying back to heady ideas of what the hell we\u2019re all doing here. She contends with pain and loss, anger and grief, sex and desire, love and worship while trying to get a better understanding of who she is, the way she loves, and the spiritual forces that move her. From the second the album starts, with the dramatic organs of the opener \u201cSexo, Violencia, y Llantas,\u201d she\u2019s trying to find her place in the physical world and whatever realm comes after: \u201cHow nice it\u2019d be to live between them both,\u201d she sings. \u201cFirst I\u2019ll love the world\/Then I\u2019ll love God.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tLux<\/em> is separated in four sections, or \u201cmovements,\u201d as Rosalia sprints off, searching for herself and God in a chaotic world. Through the stunning string arrangement of \u201cReliquia,\u201d she contemplates all the things she\u2019s lost \u2014 her faith, her smile, a friend \u2014 traveling from country to country before realizing she\u2019s someone who loves fully, despite whatever pain she\u2019s going through: \u201cBut my heart\u2019s never been my own\/I always hand it out\/Take a piece of me\/Keep it for when I\u2019m away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
\n\tOn \u201cFocu Ranni,\u201d she works through rage and broken promises (the song alludes to a wedding she was supposed to have) before declaring, \u201cI\u2019ll just belong to me and to my liberty;\u201d on \u201cLa Perla,\u201d she tears down effigies, skewering a self-involved man (\u201cnational heartbreaker, emotional terrorist, world-class fuck up\u201d) alongside the musica Mexicana singer Yahritza. But the most moving moments are self-revelations, like on \u201cDivinize,\u201d easily the album\u2019s standout. Over dazzling string arrangements and weighty production, she switches from Catalan to Spanish and lies herself bare for others: \u201cBruise me up I\u2019ll eat all of my pride\/I know that I was made to divinize.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe closing scene is a somber picture, as Rosalia imagines her own casket, adorned with magnolias. \u201cI come from the stars, but today I turn to dust to go back to them,\u201d she sings, a slight echo surrounding her voice like a halo. By then, Lux<\/em> has ended, and the curtain has fallen, leaving listeners to sit with everything they\u2019ve just heard \u2014 and to find themselves in a transformative piece of expression that\u2019s as intense and maximalist as life itself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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