LUX, by Rosalía, is almost universally acclaimed.

Rosalía’s LUX has garnered almost universal acclaim, though the album has piqued the interest of those who condemn ostentation and pomp, who are considering questioning its creator for using excessive resources to serve a concept that is thinner than it appears. The Catalan diva may indeed displease proponents of a rougher, less polished pop-rock, who might see it as a torrent of recycled mystical-philosophical and orchestral elements, at the expense of visceral emotion. She may embody the excessive grandeur abhorred by those who cherish raw, basic expression, preferring all the garages of the world to this symphonic hall that could potentially contaminate them.

Without watering it down, without distorting its core essence, completing an album of such ambition is not without risk. A song remains a song, with its chord progressions and melodies belonging to a limited set of possibilities. Where do the singularity and the capacity to elevate souls beyond their raw expression lie? Creative salvation resides in the timbre of the voice, in its inflections, its stylistic choices, its execution, its instrumentation, its instrumental arrangements, and its beatmaking. When it comes to transforming pop songs into a more complex whole, especially an electro-symphonic one, a cautious approach is necessary. Read more