Review: Jake Ybarra Shares a Striking Debut

Jake Ybarra/Something in the Water/The Orchard
Four Out of Five Stars

A highly promising newcomer, Greenville South Carolina native Jake Ybarra manages to maintain a somewhat jaded perspective. His striking debut album, Something in the Water, shares songs gleaned from a personal perspective, an approach that’s often at odds with the bitter realities he’s confronted with in the life he lives from day to day. While certain songs are spawned from a decidedly demonstrative point of view, others reflect the determination that comes from coping with everyday obstruction. 

I got a whole lot to remember but not much on my mind, he insists on the song “A Whole Lot To Remember,” one of several strikingly confessional offerings included in this ten-song set. Ybarra excels at mellow, moving ballads, and with an offering like “Long Winter,” he’s particularly expressive while describing the failure to find common ground with a significant other. I’m not up for a fight tonight, he declares before admitting, with tempers like ourselves, that fight will last all night.

Clearly, Ybarra is skilled at sharing feelings that aren’t uncommon among those who are simply trying to make some sense of a world where hardship and turmoil can lead to unrelenting demands. It makes for some markedly memorable music—the lonely lament “Disappear” and the nuanced narrative “No Reason Or Right” are accompanied by sounds both tender and touching.  The latter brings to mind the Grateful Dead’s “Friend of the Devil” in its road-weary detail. Likewise, the gentle piano ballad “Call Me By My Name” is especially affecting, another example of Ybarra’s ability to craft expressive compositions that resonate even on first hearing.

Not surprisingly, Ybarra is already being compared to any number of iconic individuals like Guy Clark, John Prine, and Rodney Crowell as far as his ability to craft descriptive songs with real-world substance and soul. Given that initial impression, it’s easy to imagine he has a potent and profound career that will likely yield some equally exceptional efforts as his budding career continues. 

Photo courtesy Somuchmoore media