Regardless of what you may have heard, the best industrial show you’ll see this week (and likely this year) will take place tonight, 8/28, when Youth Code bring the Industrial Worship Tour to Underground Arts, which the LA-based EBM duo opened for their buddies (and ours) HEALTH in April of 2019. The band are touring behind EP Yours, With Malice, their first release in four years (and first-ever for Sumerian Records, home of PHILTHY phriends and phavorites BONES UK, Diamante, The Native Howl, and Poppy), which dropped this May. The duo’s most introspective release yet, displaying more focus on songwriting than ever before, had Revolver saying, “the California EBM duo are carrying on the only way they know how: violently and as pissed off as ever.”
The Industrial Worship Tour has Youth Code joined by King Yosef (with whom they released collaborative LP A Skeleton Key in the Doors of Depression in 2021), Street Sects, and Insula Iscariot, which Youth Code frontwoman Sara Taylor recently told me has made for her favorite tour that she and musical (and life) partner Ryan George have ever been a part of. She also told me some of the details of Yours, With Malice, what you can expect of a Youth Code live show, and some of her phavorite things about the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection (There are kinda a lot.)
Izzy Cihak You recently put out Yours, With Malice, your first release in more than four years, the longest you’ve gone between releases. How do you feel like this collection compares to previous releases? I understand the process was a relatively long one.
Sara Taylor: I feel like this is a natural progression of the band. We’ve incorporated more variations, different textures, but still plant ourselves within our roots. It would be boring to make the same record over and over again, so it’s been fun to evolve with each release all while keeping a foot planted in our signature style.
Izzy: You dropped two singles prior to the EP’s release, most recently “In Search of Tomorrow.” How did that particular track came about?
Sara: All of our songs come from a healthy dose of differences between Ryan and I’s taste and writing style. I love to sit with him and put our brains together on how things get structured and parsed out. We both have such varying interests musically that it always ends up a perfect melting pot. This particular track has a push of the drum n bass that I love, all while retaining a driving drum beat from the more aggressive home of music we’ve spawned from.
Izzy: And lead single and opening track “No Consequence” has a really cool accompanying music video directed by Stephen Lentini. What were some of the things that inspired the music video?
Sara: I basically wanted it to seem like we were in 2001: A Space Odyssey or Beyond the Black Rainbow on an indie band budget, and Stephen absolutely nailed the reference looks and shots I had sent to him. To me, this as a performance video is a great representation of who we are.
Izzy: The EP’s gotten a lot of critical acclaim, but reactions from fans always seem to be far more meaningful. Have you had any favorite fan reactions to the new material?
Sara: All of our fans are the fucking best. I love talking with everyone and have even gone into being active on our Discord to continue these relationships.
Izzy: The EP dropped on Sumerian Records, which is home to a ton of artists I love and seems like a really cool label. How has it been working with them and being a part of that roster?
Sara: Love Sumerian, love our whole team there. From the jump it’s been an amazing and supportive environment that really pushes artists into greatness, and we couldn’t be happier.
Izzy: You played a handful of shows around the EP release and you’re currently on a big, full, “proper” tour. How have the shows you’ve played since the EP dropped gone so far?
Sara: Right now we’re on my favorite tour I’ve ever been on — the Industrial Worship Tour with our friends King Yosef, Street Sects, and Insula Iscariot. Beyond just watching inspiration right in front of my eyes nightly, we get to laugh and hang with people I truly consider to be friends. If you’ve ever been on tour, you know that camaraderie is one of the most important things you can attain to keep sane. Getting to sing songs with King Yosef every night also does not suck… I’d tell our fans if they miss this, they’re missing out on a god tier lineup of solid music all the way through.
Izzy: What can be expected of the Youth Code live show on this run? I haven’t seen you since 2019 and I’ve never seen you headlining, so I’m super excited for it.
Sara: All Youth Code shows are an event. Come prepared to scream with us and get out anything you wanna let out.
Izzy: You’ll be returning to Underground Arts, which you played in 2019 with HEALTH (I was basically front and stage right.) Do you have any memories of or thoughts on the venue? It’s actually my favorite venue in the city.
Sara: I designed my engagement ring that night and worked on our wedding bands at an amazing former Philadelphia jewelry company called Souvenir Jewelry, which made the most beautiful jewelry ever. It was a very special day for me. Ryan also stage dove during HEALTH. I fucking love Philadelphia… I’ve spent a lot of time here, almost too many memories to recount. But the food, the people, Grindcore House, La Colombe in Fishtown, all of it is an amazing adventure. Pennsylvania holds a special place in my heart for life. Vegan Treats is from here!!!! We have always loved Philly and hopefully will continue to come back for many years to come.
Izzy: I’m not sure if you know this, but we call the neighborhood where the venue is Eraserhood, because it’s the neighborhood that inspired Eraserhead by David Lynch, back when he went to college here. Are you fans of Eraserhead, or any of David Lynch’s works, cinematic, musical, or otherwise?
Sara: Who isn’t?!?!?! I went to the David lynch art exhibit at PAFA when it was up — speaking of Philadelphia and how much I love it. The world is a better place having had his vision and art in it.
Izzy: You’ve actually toured with so many of my favorite people in music (both musically and personally), like Skinny Puppy, Chelsea Wolfe, HEALTH, and Refused. Are there any artists that you’d absolutely love to get a chance to tour with that you haven’t yet?
Sara: Charli xcx, Lady Gaga, Nine Inch Nails again, I dunno, there are a million bands I’d love to share the stage with. The more varied the better.
Izzy: And how are you hoping and planning to spend the last quarter of 2025, after these dates wrap?
Sara: Writing, writing, writing. Can’t wait to see what the future holds for us musically.
*Get your tickets here.
