by Kris Handel (@khandel84)
Compare and Despair is the first album under the name of Youbet, the alias of NY musician Nick Llobet and introduces the audience to an aural playland that carries so much within it. This musical world is one that lives in a unique space that balances a sort of playful naivety with an unsettledness in all it undertakes. Llobet is accompanied by musicians from bands such as Ava Luna and Wilder Maker, and there is an interlocking between everyone that transports the listener into a unique and off-kilter musical environment. There is a lot of instrumental interplay that twists and prods each other along and weaves all the pieces together even in it’s most contrasting moments.
“Endless” kicks off the record with hurriedly strummed acoustic guitar and twinkling keyboards floating through while Llobet’s vocals push at his highest register, until everything finds a woozy groove to temporarily settle in. The moods are constantly shifting musically as bass bobs in between cloudy keyboards and drums stutter and shuffle along in the sparser moments laying the foundation for Llobet’s distinct vocal work. “Volcano” changes the mood drastically and effectively as Llobet lays out anxieties and interpersonal desires compellingly in couplets such as: “It’s always fucked up the way you call me useless…I feel a shame I can’t contain”. The track highlights the contrasting moods Youbet plays with as the backing provides a lightness and freeing atmosphere that is in direct opposition to what is being expressed in the honest and open lyrics
“Nice Try” is a tension laced psych exploration full of blasts of distortion interspersed with chiming spiky guitar and keyboards that swerve from twinkling to slightly gloom laden blurts. Llobet and company once again show how adept they are at chameleonic shifting of emotions and moods which plays with the ears of the audience before abruptly disintegrating. “Cycle” comes off as one of the more tranquil moments on the record, yet that is quickly betrayed through Llobet’s stream of thought-ish songwriting. There’s a brooding underneath here that is a bit reminiscent of Elliott Smith in his artsier moments, Llobet’s vocals waver and bend and carry a weight that stays with you.
Compare and Despair is a record that fully revels in it’s trippiness and quirky chaos, and it readily takes you on a journey however the destination is unclear and open-ended. Llobet and company have packed so much in this record that is full of intriguing melodies and musical ideas that refuse to be pinned down. The record’s constant shifting and disorienting atmospheres lends itself to multiple listens where you will always pick up on something new every listen you give it. The heaviness and unpredictability of life is on full display here, but there is a constantly playful inventiveness and levity at hand that is akin to a sound kaleidoscope. Everyone involved here has created a record that is engrossing and hard to fully wrap your head around, but one that is easy to lose yourself in which you will be thankful for experiencing.