Youbet – ‘Way to Be’ album review: promising yet forgettable

Name: Youbet - Way to Be
Rating: 3

Aimee Ferrier

Thu 9 May 2024 7:07, UK

Youbet - 'Way to Be'

THE SKINNY: It was a chance encounter with Patti Smith at a train station that encouraged Nick Llobet to keep working on music during a time when they were close to giving up. Inspired by the punk poet icon, Llobet formed Youbet, a genre-defying project that incorporates garage-rock guitars, indie rock melodies and bubbling synths.

After a successful debut album, Compare & Despair, Youbet is back with Way To Be, a promising yet oftentimes forgettable record, which moves between impressive instrumental constructions and repetitive, tiring melodies.

If the guitars on this record were a piece of film, they’d be slightly out of focus or thick with grain – there’s a haziness to their rawness, which speaks to Llobet’s strikingly honest lyricism. They don’t hesitate to dig into the corners of their own personality, such as in the lead single, ‘Carsick’, where they explore the feeling of never knowing when to reign it in. On ‘Alive To You’, Llobet similarly sings about self-destructive habits, with lyrics like “I think I’ll take some more/ Now I’m filling up/It’s the way I am.”

Each track is carefully composed, as best demonstrated on ‘Do’ and ‘Vacancy’, which weave heavy guitars with complex layers of instrumentation, leaving these two pieces as some of the album’s greatest moments. ‘Vacancy’ is the longest cut, coming in at almost five minutes, which blends a dark, fuzzy guitar riff with a contrasting set of instruments which are considerably more serene.

This contrast between harshness and melody is pretty representative of the album, which feels like an experiment in blending dark and light. Oftentimes, Llobet’s voice sounds childlike and innocent while simultaneously delivering lines about life’s complexities.

While their musical ability is perfectly evident in the skilled guitar parts, the album doesn’t feel instantly captivating. Llobet’s distinctive voice can often become grating, especially when the melodies require their voice to twist and turn more than usual. There are a few undeniably fantastic songs, such as ‘Peel’, but they are sandwiched between some rather unforgettable moments, petering along with a medium tempo, like ‘Lost’.

For fans of: Self-reflective journaling that allows your mind to float off into another world.

A concluding comment from my boyfriend: “Like a Butlins holiday, this album has a few enjoyable moments, but I’m not itching to go back anytime soon.”

Way to Be track-by-track:

Release Date: May 10th | Label: Hardly Art | Producer: Nick Llobet

‘Carsick’: Despite opening with ferocious guitars, the track soon slows into a mid-tempo meditation on self-control, “Knowing when to stop/It must be sweet,” Llobet sings. [3/5]

‘Way to Be’: Llobet’s voice chimes in straight away, accompanying a concoction of guitars – sometimes gentle and sometimes more driving and determined. [3/5]

‘Nurture’: There’s a slight country influence here. It’s an inoffensive number that serves as one of the more forgettable moments on the album. [2.5/5]

‘Seeds of Evil’: A real sense of dynamism is present within the guitars, which fizz below the surface and prove to be the song’s best asset. [3/5]

‘Alive to You’: This isn’t a bad song, but it’s not particularly good either. It’s just a bit of a nothing track. [2.5/5]

‘Do’: The album is at its best when it’s heavier. It gives the record a sense of bite, and the contrast between soft and hard allows for more textural experimentation, which pays off. [4/5]

‘Deserve’: This is another mid-tempo number that is considerably less interesting than the stellar song that came just before it. [2.5/5]

‘Lost’: An ominous start, the synths here are really great, and they give way to a more unique instrumental trajectory that is, at times, a little sparser. [3/5]

‘Peel’: The flamenco-inspired guitars are a refreshing element, working well with Llobet’s idiosyncratic voice. There’s a sense of mystery and quiet skill at work, making this one of the album’s greatest pieces. [4/5]

‘Trauma’: The album’s shortest song; it’s snappy and catchy and will probably get stuck in your head. [3/5]

‘Vacancy’: This is a slow build, but the explosive ending of the track is well worth it, contrasting with the twinkly guitars in the background. [3.5/5]

‘Still’: A quieter cut to end the record, ‘Still’ is tender and charming, with short bursts of noise making it into the final moments of the track, which give it a slight sense of unease. [3.5/5]