Yours, With Malice is an incredible return for Youth Code, honing the Los Angeles-based duo’s electronic, industrial sound.

Words by Paulina Subia

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Youth Code has been a heavy-hitter in the electronic scene for over a decade. The Los Angeles-based duo, Sara Taylor and Ryan George, started somewhat accidentally, after a one-off showcase encouraged the pair to expand from their hardcore origins and merge with synthesisers and drum beats. Youth Code produces a ​​phantasmagoria of industrial, punk, goth and more, expertly crafted and irresistibly menacing. After taking a few years to redefine their sound, the duo has returned with the aptly titled EP, Yours, With Malice, wielding refreshing vulnerability with a razor-sharp edge.

The lead single, ‘No Consequence’, is a raging re-introduction, honing their industrial sound on a trippy, sprawling path. The track opens with a wave of discordant synths that crawl their way towards a burst of seething growls from Taylor. The low, driving drum beats from George resemble Nine Inch Nails in their early, grime-infused goth rave days, complementing Taylor’s vocals that fuse grit and fragility seamlessly. She laments on “The broken tenure of our promises” and resents a “Rewritten passage by two complete strangers”, giving a soft edge to their all-consuming aggression.

‘Wishing Well’ sounds like a song you’d hear on a Saw soundtrack, beginning with a static-filled beat that travels through a vortex of drum synths towards something one can only assume is dangerous. You can sense the anger and dirt that infuse each chord, and lines such as “the weight of the world into the palm of your hand” amplify the impending doom that pervades the track. “Empty dreams” haunt ‘In Search of Tomorrow’, the second single from Youth Code’s return. The result is a dreamscape – or hellscape, rather – of their own. As Taylor’s vocals echo in and out of focus, she is backed by a wall of sound that is mauled by a relentless, driving drum beat. 

‘Make Sense’ begins with the clanging of metal and the literal turning of gears. Taylor’s exasperated cries to “protect me” and “release me” are delivered with an underlying rage that manifests in the chorus. A sudden shift to a blast of bass and drums that liken the duo’s hardcore roots produces a shock, and with a slight hip-hop influence in the beat, the track shows the pair’s ability to blend their influences and maintain their heaviness.

The closing track is ‘I’m Sorry’, the most danceable of the group. The sound is reminiscent of Depeche Mode with its blending of light and dark, with its grating opening chords contrasted by two-step inducing drum beats and feather-light piano keys. The latter half of the song blares like a warning alarm, and Taylor’s repeated “I’m sorry”, backed by the electric shocks of sound, wage an inner war, pulsing with inescapable dread.

Yours, With Malice is an incredible return for Youth Code. Each song drips with enticing danger, and the evident fusion of electronic and hardcore amplifies the duo to their own realm, entirely.

Verdict: 💀💀💀💀💀

For Fans Of: Nine Inch Nails, Boy Harsher, Ministry

Yours, With Malice is released on 16 May via Sumerian