LUX - Sainthood and Stretching the Limits of Pop Music
Experimental, bold and intriguing - Rosalía has done it again. The Catalan artist, known for her unconventional tendency to play with musical genres, has released her new album that’s centered around female saints. It comes as a surprise to many listeners, as her fourth release differs significantly from the 2022 ‘Motomami’ and distances itself from Latin American club music, drawing more similarities to Rosalía’s flamenco training. ‘Motomami’ and ‘LUX’ are as different as two albums can be in terms of inspiration, tone and musical execution.
Rosalía’s heavenly and versatile voice is accompanied by London Symphony Orchestra and some of the songs on the album have guest appearances, such as Björk and Yves Tumor on “Berghain”. The central theme of the album is searching for sacredness - which is emphasised by the title that translates as light from Latin. The album cover, with Rosalía hugging herself in a nun headdress, reflects the idea of self-acceptance and spiritual yearning.
Rosalía considers herself religious, prays every night and reads the Bible. She reminisces about time spent at church and looks up to her deeply Catholic grandma. She walked Camino de Santiago alone at 19 and considers faith to be an important element of her life. The “hot for God” aesthetic that she reinforces throughout the album could partially act as a reflection of that. It also encompasses the significance and presence of religion in societies, emphasising its role in the lives of many across the world.
During the process of writing the album, the artist treated it like an investigation. She hung a map in her room, and on it she marked each of the saints' countries. This multicultural journey allowed Rosalía to craft a storytelling masterpiece, combining 14 languages, and through them introducing narratives from around the world. The 18 song album gives light to stories and feelings, cleverly mixing elements of pop and classical music to portray them through sound.
Faith related philosophy is a recurring topic in many songs on the album. ‘Sexo, violencia y Llantas’ embodies the struggle to navigate between the physical and the spiritual. ‘Reliquia’ explores the curse of loving too hard and highlights the virtue of that approach, through breaking the song’s quartet up with electronic modifications of sounds. ‘Divinize’ explores the concept of the sanctity of the human body and the process of self-divinization.
Internet users speculated on Rosalía’s love life references on ‘La Perla,’ which allegedly alluded to Rauw Alejandro and his break up with the artist back in 2023. The called off engagement sparked rumours, suggesting Alejandro’s infidelity, although they were never confirmed. In the song, Rosalía describes Alejandro as “terrorista emocional” (emotional terrorist) or “rompecorazones nacional” (national heartbreaker) to give an insight into her perception of the Puerto Rican artist when they were together, paralleling a story of Saint Rosalia de Palermo, who fled the altar and sacrificed herself to God.
The life of Olga de Kyiv is explored in ‘De Madrugá’. Rosalía sings a few lines in Ukrainian, and tells the story of the saint who brought a lot of people to faith, but had a darker side to her. After her husband died, she avenged him by killing the men that wronged him. In a sense, the song aims to highlight how anyone could become a saint. The title itself translates to 'early morning' and the song explores the themes of making peace with past grievances, revenge and inner strength . As sung in Ukrainian: 'I am not seeking revenge. Revenge is seeking me.' Justice is inevitable and it will eventually seek out any sinner.
When talking to The Guardian, Rosalía stated that: “In a world that sometimes feels so divided, for me it’s about collecting stories and making songs out of them the best I can.” LUX channels the holy through the human, and does so through the divine power of pop music and the real accounts of sainthood.