Cleo Handler

Album Release Show celebrating new compare & contrast album, out 4/4.

compare & contrast is an album about dating — and about being by yourself.

The raw production, honest storytelling, and deeply personal lyrics explore the angst, humor, loneliness, and discovery of that (sometimes insane) journey.

A longtime lyricist in the Advanced BMI Songwriting Workshop and an award-winning indie filmmaker and music video director (Amy Helm – Sun Records), Cleo Handler splits time between LA and NY. compare & contrast was recorded with Claire Morison at Wild Horizon Sound in Los Angeles (with musicians Wayne Whittaker and Greg Settino).

She writes, “when someone I was seeing told me (in what obviously became a breakup conversation) that as much as they liked me, their “therapist thought it was important they keep dating other people, in order to compare and contrast,” the sentiment hit me like a gut punch of insensitivity, objectification, and self-involvement. (Which I stand by). But… over time, as I kept living and trying and feeling my way, that phrase, which had first struck me as wildly rude, began to take on
new meaning.

When you’ve become accustomed to muffling and questioning your intuition, it can take a while to tune into it again. And, the more I tried to hone my instincts and listen to that little voice that had been so quiet for so long, the more I found that I was in fact comparing and contrasting — not so much in others, but in myself. I started checking in, weighing, asking: how do you learn to trust your gut, and how do you differentiate the moments that make you feel aligned, secure, and
happy (from those that really don’t)? When should you sit with your discomfort, and when should you run for the hills? As I tried to locate the answers, I wrote this album. And as it came together, the main thing I found was that the louder and clearer that little voice got, the more I  enjoyed its company — and the more I believed it.”

These songs are about empowerment, self- actualization, and figuring out what you need – and what you don’t – and being strong enough to stick to it. Musically, compare & contrast draws inspiration from beloved artists like Liz Phair and Wet Leg, nodding to the attitude and snark of Olivia Rodrigo, Mannequin Pussy, and Beach Bunny.

Visually, the three videos she created explore nostalgic, reflective, and playful themes using a “home movie” palette.