Yo - Carmina Alegría

​Yo

Carmina Alegría
self-released; 2025

By Matt Jensen

Carmina Alegría is the new album from Yo, and from the opening seconds of “Desaparecer” I felt like I was stepping into a world that refuses to ease me in. The song starts abruptly, pulling me into a kind of prog rock séance with ghostly voices drifting in and out as the intensity builds. It is disorienting in a way that feels intentional, like the record wants to unsettle my footing before it shows me where it is going.

The title track “Carmina Alegría” shifts into a quieter space with soft guitar picking and spoken vocals. I picked up on a post rock sensibility here, especially in the way the vocals begin to double and blur. It is a long piece at over seven minutes and the beauty of it comes from how patiently it moves, even when it wavers toward the uncanny. “Coágulo de un instante” follows with something much bigger in scale. The mix of soaring vocals, heavy drums, and intricate guitar patterns feels almost ceremonial, aiming for a kind of regal grandeur.

“Volver al aire” leans fully into theatrics. The opera style vocals and shimmering guitars share space with alien synths and electronic textures, creating something that feels almost stage ready. “Siempre (la mano en el fuego)” pushes that even further. Wooden wind like textures, rolling drums, and bursts of spoken word give it a cinematic energy, the kind of oversized sound I would expect to hear in something like Avatar.

The back half of the album continues to expand that palette. “Los muertos siempre son verdad” is the most lush track here, drifting between subdued passages and a straightforward rock groove with distorted guitars. “Decirlo a veces sin palabras” brings back the operatic vocals in a way that feels intentionally over the top, while the bonus track “Levantando las manos” closes things out with unexpectedly somber singing.

​By the time I reached the end, I found myself thinking of Carmina Alegría as a kind of rock opera. Yo is clearly aiming for something grand, theatrical, and emotionally blown open. Not everything lands perfectly, but the ambition is undeniable and there are moments here that feel genuinely original. It is a strange, expansive record and I am glad I spent time inside it.

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