American EBM virtuosos Youth Code have returned with their first musical output in four years: Yours, With Malice, incoming May 16, 2025 on Sumerian Records.
Nothing hits harder than life, as they say, and the series of bloody-knuckle bouts to get to the release of Yours, With Malice led to some deep introspection by Youth Code regarding who they are, what they’ve accomplished and their next steps. These last few years of self-reflection found Youth Code stewing in a simmering cauldron of bile and vitriol as Yours, With Malice is clearly their most intricate, well-crafted and blood-thirsty release to date. This maliciousness meets melodicism on their latest single, “In Search of Tomorrow,” which arrives today alongside a new visualizer.
Yours, With Malice roars and tramples out of the gate like an armor-plated, weaponized bulldozer, pulverizing skulls into fine powder, while bubbling sub-bass, bone-snapping snare hits, sizzling hi-hats and rib-rattling kicks bounce off of the floors like spent shells. Sanford Parker’s powerful mix gives the effort a strong shove in the right direction– the subtle but careful ear for melody that connects all the songs, grounds them, and keeps the listener chained to the “repeat” button.
While some of the sounds and references on Yours… come from classic 90s influences such as Nine Inch Nails’ classic Broken/Fixed duality, the untouchable middle period Ministry era that spawned The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste, in addition to a plethora of others like Front 242, Cabaret Voltaire, and Portion Control, the core attack has not changed much for the Los Angeles-based duo.
If the music of Youth Code is the sketchy, yellowing passenger van luring in unsuspecting listeners, then the melodies on Yours… are the out-stretched hand of unlimited candy that growing legions won’t be able to resist. Sara Taylor shares: “I started exploring more melodic vocals on our record with King Yosef [the 2021 collab A Skeleton Key in the Doors of Depression], but I’ve always felt somewhat insecure in my voice… at the same time, Eartha Kitt had a gravelly voice and she was the epitome of a vocalist that ably captured attention– she understood the song and how to make the most of it with what she had.”
What has changed is Youth Code’s attention to detail and their hyper focus on execution in songwriting, two things that can only come from the wellspring of knowledge found in a band that has been at it for more than a decade. The group began in 2012 as a project between partners Ryan George and Sara Taylor, inspired by the classic sounds of New Order, Depeche Mode and the hardcore punk that soundtracked so much of their youth. What emerged was a demo cassette that led to a 7” release on Angry Love, the first band unrelated to the legendary Psychic TV to be released on that label. A self-titled album followed, then 2014’s A Place to Stand EP, and 2016’s Commitment to Complications LP, all while touring with a diverse groups like Chelsea Wolfe, HEALTH, Skinny Puppy, and more, in addition to arena shows with My Chemical Romance and main stage appearances with Nine Inch Nails. Heaps of press accolades followed before the pandemic hit, and now, in 2025, Youth Code return with their magnum opus.
Pre-order Yours, With Malice here and here, and see Youth Code live in select cities this May + June:
Youth Code, live:
May 23 Brooklyn, NY – Gold Sounds [tickets]
May 24 Chicago, IL – Sleeping Village [tickets]
Jun. 07 Los Angeles, CA – The Echo [sold out]
