u/HonkyTonkPsychiatry

Originally published by Downtown Lanc Zine. Artwork by (at)sandw1tchshop

Some artists are defined by momentum; but youbet has been defined by patience. 
With their 2020 debut, Compare and Despair, listeners were introduced to the distinctive soundscape of guitarist, singer, and songwriter Nick Llobet. The songs are built around urgent, melodic hooks that remain catchy even as they drift into psychedelia or despair. Llobet’s vocals mirror that dynamic, at times intimate and grounding, at others more elusive and disorienting. 

However, that album’s release coincided with the onset of COVID-19, preventing any opportunity to tour in its support. Unable to promote the album in any traditional sense, the band had no way to capitalize on the momentum it had created. 
Llobet would wait to reintroduce youbet until 2024, with the release of a second LP, Way to Be. On that record, Llobet expands on the foundation of the debut with greater fidelity and more developed arrangements, drawing the listener into a space where a more rock-oriented, cosmopolitan interpretation of Sparklehorse intersects with pop-adjacent guitar work and songwriting reminiscent of The Beatles’ mid to late era.

It was during the final stages of making that record that bassist Micah Prussack entered the project, a shift that would ultimately redefine youbet’s identity. What had largely functioned as a solo endeavor began to expand outward. Able to extensively tour for the first time, the material transformed into something new as the band brought the songs to life on stage. youbet moved from being a recording project shaped primarily in isolation to something more collaborative, and began to reflect a shared musical language rather than a singular vision.
That gradual transformation now comes into sharper focus on the band’s self-titled new album. Rather than signaling reinvention, the record feels like a consolidation, an arrival at a more stable identity. The core elements remain intact, but they are rendered with greater precision, providing muscle and purpose to Llobet’s songwriting. Nothing here departs radically from what came before, but everything feels more assured in its execution, as if the band has finally learned how to fully inhabit its own sound.

I wanted to better understand how that evolution happened, and was lucky enough to chat with Llobet and Prussack ahead of their show at West Art on Monday, 5/4/26. ** **

Andrew Mattey: Thank you both for taking the time to answer some questions from me while you’re on the road.
2024’s Way to Be doesn’t contain any musician credits, so I’ve assumed that Nick and the credited co-producers played all the instruments on that record. Is that correct, the two of you began to collaborate after that album was completed but before it was released? Can you please tell me how you began to work together, and how youbet evolved from a solo project to a collaborative band?
Nick Llobet: Yes, the credited co-producers and I played on Way to Be. And yes, Micah joined the band while Way to Be was being finished. 

Micah Prussack: Nick and I met in the spring of 2022 at a show I was playing with another band. He asked me shortly after if I wanted to play bass in youbet. We hung out that summer so Nick could show me the songs and we ended up hanging out for over 6 hours- talking about life, music, and more. We realized that day that we were aligned in terms of what we wanted from music- to travel, explore musical connections, and make music and art that inspires us. 

NL: I have always wanted youbet to be a collaborative venture with my songs as the focal point. Finding the right people just takes time- and I have been lucky enough to work with so many amazing collaborators over the years- but working with Micah felt aligned beyond just a musical connection. 

AM: I know the Beatles are an artist that you both connected over, and it is apparent from listening to the guitar and bass arrangements on songs like “Worship” and others. What other common influences shaped the sound of this record, and where do your tastes diverge? 

NL: Boris, Autolux, Debussy, Ovlov, and a vast array of artists form our shared taste.

MP: I like all the stuff Nick likes pretty much, I just tend to like more stuff in general. 

AM: How has Nick’s songwriting process changed now that there’s another voice in the room earlier on? 

NL: I write with Micah’s contributions in mind- her bass playing but also leaving room for arrangement and structure we might develop together. 

AM: I’ve seen youbet’s previous two records sometimes described as bedroom rock. No one will be saying that about this new record, as it’s a major step towards a more prodigious sound. The album is teeming with harmony and big, lush arrangements. The guitars roar in a way that’s reminiscent of an era when hard rock used to dominate the radio. How intentional was this shift? Currently touring as a four-piece, what has it been like bringing this bigger sound in front of a live audience?

NL: We made the album with Katie Von Schleicher and Julian Fader who I have worked with before- and we have all gotten better at what we do. Julian mentioned to us that they finished the mixes when Katie’s boyfriend walked into the room and said that the album “sounds expensive.” 

MP: We originally wrote and arranged the songs for our trio lineup that we toured with for all of 2024 and much of 2025. The trio arrangement also forced us to re-arrange the Way to Be songs. Because we didn’t have all of the layers at our disposal we decided to use distortion and dynamics to translate the energy of the songs- that distorted, scrappy trio sound formed the base, and then Katie and Julian helped bring those arrangements into the 3-dimensional, “expensive” zone. 

AM: I can definitely hear what you mean when describing the album as expensive sounding, but was it actually more expensive to make? Was there substantially more time spent in the studio with this album,was there new gear used, or new processes applied?

NL: We made it with great producers who had great gear over the course of 11 days with additional work done at our apartments in Brooklyn.

AM: An interesting aspect of Way to Be was that the songs were written several years prior to their release, even before youbet’s 2020 debut album was released. When and how were the songs written for the new album?

NL: Most of the songs were written in 2024, but some of the ideas and components were percolating prior to that. Worship, for example, was a 2023 song, and Receive’s chorus was in a Bandcamp demo I made the same year. Everything was finalized in early 2025 before we hit the studio that February. 

MP: Nick demoed out dozens of songs- some of which we brought directly to rehearsal, some of which Nick and I workshopped together at Nick’s house. The body of work we had going into 2025 was much larger than what we ended up with on the finished album- we made a ton of cuts and I’m still a little salty. But it’s all for the best. 

AM: What was that process like, culling the album’s track list from a much larger body of work? What factored into those decisions? When and how did you know that you had what you needed for the album?

MP: it was definitely heartbreaking to hear some songs that were staples of our live set for years not make the album. But I do understand Nick’s decision making around it for the most part. Some songs just didn’t translate well in the studio. Unfortunately we didn’t have an infinite budget or infinite time to iron out every song. But there’s always next time!

AM: We’re catching you at West Art immediately after the official release of the new album, but after you’ve had the chance to play these songs on tour for the past month. Have there been moments when a song really clicked, or otherwise garnered a reaction that surprised you? 

NL: Ground Kiss turned out great. We’re so excited to work the rest of the songs from the album into the set!

youbet was released on 5/1/26 by Hardly Art records, and can be found wherever you listen to music. youbet plays at West Art on Monday, 5/4 with Super Infinity. $15 adv / $20 dos, tickets at westartlanc.com