London-based duo REYKO drop powerful sophomore album Pulse, channelling the euphoric live music scene the world has been missing for the past year and a half. Designed with a vibe meant to be “urgent, direct, and immediate,” the album sees the pair swerve away from the dreamy stylings of their debut album, with an innovative and eccentric blend of genres of their latest foray.
Juxtaposing husky, whispered vocals with the earth-shattering shred of guitars on opening track, “Take A Look At Yourself,” the album starts off foreboding before the anthemic melody of “Saturday,” perks us up. The duo move quickly from the initial edgy rock style into a glitchy electro-clash experimentation on early stand-out “The Game.”
Following up one impressive offering with another, the groovy beats of hushed “Cover It Up,” gets our feet tapping before “Slow Mo,” shocks us with its eerie, robotic delivery and stretches right on through the next track, “People Talk.” REYKO brings the rock and post-punk influences on guitar-led, high-energy offerings “Panic,” and “Coming Back,” which develop as the undeniable highlights of the production, perfectly capturing the wild feel and unbridled joy of live music.
The penultimate song “She Said,” injects a sense of calm in its opening bars before layering with hyped-up cheers in the background for an innovative slip into closing track, “Start Again,” a classic slice of rock music underpinned by the feel-good strum of electric guitars and bass fading away as an earworm collection of ten tracks that you’ll be humming all day.
Having made a name for themselves with their ability to go viral, Soleil and Igor come together as REYKO their unique combination of hushed vocals and breezy yet strong melodies evolving to push them towards a new musical direction.
