Singularidad o Barbarie, debut album by Sigilu, from 2017.
I talked about Sigilu on the occasion of the review of their beautiful album Beta, from 2025, which ranked twentieth in my personal ranking of all the albums from last year and third in my ranking dedicated to emerging bands, the one I called the “Great Hopes for the Future of Progressive Rock 2025”, the great hopes of Progressive Rock. After listening to it, I promised myself, driven by great interest, to listen to their previous album, Singularidad o Barbarie, here is its review. You can find the complete biography of the band in the page dedicated to them.
Singularidad o Barbarie is the album that introduced the Galician band to the Spanish and European alternative and progressive music scene. Unlike Beta, which is heavier, this record is a fusion of progressive rock, folk, and electronics, and I agree with those who have described it as an "electro-songwriting" album.
An exciting avant-garde progressive rock, with classical instruments, rock guitars, and electronic sound manipulation.
The concept of the album revolves around the dichotomy between authentic individuality and social alienation, with the title recalling the political slogan "Socialism or Barbarism" and reinterpreting it on a psychological and existential level:
Singularity represents identity, the moment of awareness, and the ability to feel deep emotions. It is the search for an authentic "voice" or "crack" in a world of appearances.
Barbarism is the "routine," a tight-fitting tunic that suffocates the individual, or like silence and the inability to truly communicate. Barbarism is the surrender to mechanical repetitiveness and the loss of meaning.
The album deals with various dualisms (dream vs sun, fog vs light) and says that "singularity" is found precisely in the courage to cross one's own shadow zones without hiding. Each track is part of a psychological narrative. The album proposes a choice: to cultivate one's conscious uniqueness (Singularity) or to succumb to the automation of the soul and communicative emptiness (Barbarism).
The album consists of 9 tracks for a total of about 51 minutes.
Rutina opens the album with hypnotic electronic rhythms and prominent continuous bass lines, with an urgent mood that is also reflected in the lyrics.
Guardianes is an ambient-rock track, made of atmospheric sounds with violin inserts.
Animal is a ballad that blends folk and alternative rock, slow and melancholic with a beautiful melody and acoustic arrangement.
Fuego is an art-rock track that alternates moments of calm with explosions.
M.O.R. is an experimental track with extensive use of synths and reverbs.
Nuevo Ciclo is progressive folk, a complex track that moves from an acoustic beginning to a very intense ending.
Euforia is a bright, rhythmic track, a beautiful avant-garde pop-rock, with a great guitar part.
Reflejo is a dark track, subdued with a meditative atmosphere.
Bajo tus pies [Nolan] is the final suite, pure progressive rock, the longest track with a splendid fusion of violin, electronics, and rock, the track that comes closest to the next work, Beta.
The band manages to layer the sound with an intense and engaging atmosphere, between melody and experimentation. An ambitious, beautiful debut, and I'm surprised so much time passed before the release of the next one, which takes a direction that is its evolution.
Beautiful Experimental Folk, with great use of violin and acoustic passages, a distorted and modern folk sound. Great use of electronics with synthesizers and hypnotic rhythms, surreal atmospheres at times, with long instrumental sections and dynamic variations, from pianissimo to sound explosions.
Great album, Excellent!
Note: All links to the musicians' works are in the TAGS under the article title or on the "Artists" page
Tracklist
1. Rutina (4:46)
2. Guardianes (4:50)
3. Animal (5:31)
4. Fuego (5:20)
5. M.O.R. (5:24)
6. Nuevo Ciclo (6:13)
7. Euforia (6:00)
8. Reflejo (6:18)
9. Bajo Tus Pies [Nolan] (6:30)
Duration 50:52
LineUp
- Nacho Cuesta - guitar, vocals
- Evaristo Frieiro - bass
- Pablo Saavedra - drums
- Hugo Rodríguez - violin
