Y-Luk-O – Dead Without You

Y-Luk-O, with such a name you could expect anything, but what you get is quite diverse electronic music, which fuses electro, industrial and even some orchestral elements. I was a bit afraid when I read that one of the influences of the band is nu-metal, but I don’t really hear that in the music. Although this is released by a German label, Y-Luk-O is actually an act from London. Yluko takes care of the vocals, (sparse) guitars and programming, while Leo is the sound-designer, and he also takes care of backing vocals and production. The music on “Dead without you” sounds quite original. I like the first two tracks the most, on the second half of the album there are often too many crossover elements for my taste. In the first track ‘Ecstasy’ you get a typical EBM beat and dark vocals, but this is contrasted by the rather bombastic orchestral elements and the sampled female voice. The second track, ‘+1 (6300 257 6106’ (whose number is this?) has rather harsh, machine-like percussion, but the singing and refrain is quite accessible.

This original combination of elements can be found on most tracks. The compositions are also not very straightforward, often with surprising breaks and a dense sound. The vocals are also rather varied, from screaming to melodic, from distorted to sounding clear, aided by some sampled voices. Although there are various danceable elements on this album, I think that most songs are not catchy enough to become ‘clubhits’.
With this release Y-Luk-O certainly proves to be a promising newcomer, rich of ideas. I think they could sound quite energetic on stage. What I still miss though are some really memorable tracks. But I do appreciate their attempt to sound innovative, in a genre where originality is quite rare.

artist: Y-Luk-O
label: Sonic-X
details: 11 tracks, 47 minutes