YOUTH CODE - Youth Code

While the revival of early-Eighties minimal-wave has been thriving for some time now, often with excellent results as in the case of the Wierd roster, the rediscovery of electro-industrial sounds is a more recent phenomenon.

A microcosm is indeed developing which, in terms of atmosphere and sound, sits somewhat at odds with the polished synths of Xeno & Oaklander and Frank (Just Frank), placing itself on a ridge between industrial noise and a body music where the body in question is not just the electronic one, but also the one writhing on the dancefloor.

The first to rediscover this world were probably //TENSE// from Houston, authors of a handful of CDs and records, including the EP “Escape” for Mannequin Records, a fine concentrate of old school ebm and Carpenter-esque atmospheres; a kindred artist is undoubtedly By Any Means Necessary, from North Carolina, the alter ego of Sam Witherspoon: his project moves along sonic coordinates close to Front Line Assembly and Front 242.

Also looking towards the early ebm of Nitzer Ebb & co. are Light Asylum, based in Brooklyn, authors of a powerful debut EP (“In Tension”, 2010) and of a full-length that was unfortunately less thrilling; the list could go on, and further down the line it will be interesting to take stock of this “scene”.

Among those championing the renewed interest in these sounds is an “old fox” like Douglas McCarthy of the aforementioned Nitzer Ebb: he and his wife, in fact, hosted performances by some of these artists for a couple of years at their “nocturnal” gallery Show Cave, in Los Angeles. And it's precisely from LA that Youth Code hail, a duo made up of Ryan George and Sara Taylor, who fit perfectly into this micro-scene.

They flirt with industrial, but their background is in punk (Ryan sang in Carry On and Adored); true to the do-it-yourself ethic, the band came together almost by chance, recording their demo just a week before their debut show, basically fiddling around with their gear and drawing on an innate ability to channel their own rage into music. Earlier this year their first official release came out: a 7" for Angry Love Productions, the label owned by Genesis P. Orridge and Edward O’Dowd.

Now it’s time for their full-length debut on Dais Records, a decidedly fitting home: the label’s catalogue includes both valuable early-industrial reissues (alongside the aforementioned Genesis P. Orridge, there’s also work from artists like Maurizio Bianchi, Missing Foundation and Ghédalia Tazartès) and contemporary bands (deservedly) riding the wave of the darkest hype: Cold Cave, Iceage, Cult Of Youth and others; a thoroughly respectable roster now joined by the vitriolic ravings of these two sonic terrorists.

“Let The Sky Burn” is the battle cry that opens the record: the track, white-hot like molten metal poured into a cold mould, scrapes its noise against a pulsing beat that looms over a sample of a speech by pacifist Dahlia Wasfi: YC are certainly no part of the “silent majority”.

The electro-goth of Youth Code then unfolds across industrial-rock episodes (the ministry-esque “What Is The Answer?”) and tracks pushing toward a metal-dance sound that’s harsher than ever (“No Animal Escapes”, “Distorted Views”), sketching out an apocalyptic world where the listener, fleeing through the alleys of a post-atomic metropolis, is chased by new barbarians to the rhythm of metal and silicon percussion.

Three songs from the demo have been re-recorded (“Sick Skinned”, the anthem “Destroy, Said She” and the aforementioned “What Is The Answer?”): their sound has been polished up slightly but – as Ryan and Sara are keen to point out – this isn’t music made for clubs, just as the punk and industrial they draw on never was either.

The result evokes the best productions from Wax Trax, the legendary American label that brought the likes of KMFDM, Coil and Laibach to the other side of the Atlantic.

Uncompromising music, both sonically and thematically, that places the duo in the wake of “bad teachers” like the seminal Skinny Puppy, perfect for seducing lovers of machine noise and musical chaos.

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30/10/2013