Lynks

Exploring themes of sexuality, gender, social issues, and modern club culture, there’s a drag-inspired theatricality to Lynks’ wry, eccentric, and often comedic, lo-fi industrial pop. Born in South London in 1997, Elliot Brett’s teenage years led to an eventual obsession with music. Brett began to compose earnest, James Blake-like, post-dubstep material — and wrote for theatre — while studying psychology in Bristol. It was an impromptu, chaotic, humor-filled gig at a friend’s house party in 2018 that led Brett to create the Lynks Afrikka persona, breaking away from the stoic tone of earlier musical efforts. Named in subversive and knowing reference to a deodorant marketed for men and dominant in the U.K. during the mid- to late ’90s, this visibly outlandish, Leigh Bowery-inspired character proved to be a hit on the Bristol gay scene. As word spread, the act was often accompanied onstage by a characterfully under-rehearsed but joyful dance troupe dubbed the Shower Gels. On graduating in 2019, Brett moved to back to south London and set to work on a debut, the home-recorded Lynks Afrikka EP. Titled, in typically tongue-in-cheek fashion, Smash Hits, Vol. 1, the July 2020 release showcased a playful brand of raw electronic pop that was lyrically witty and presented the mundane in an exploratory and innovative way. By the end of the year, Brett had shortened the moniker to Lynks, ahead of the sardonic “On Trend,” and supported acts such as Goat Girl and Scalping. January 2021′s Smash Hits, Vol. 2 brought a cameo from Shame’s Charlie Steen on the single “This is the Hit.” Further collaboration came that year in the form of a guest appearance on Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes’ “Go Get a Tattoo” (leading to a tour with the punk artist that November) and a joint single, “BBB,” with Grove. A third EP, April 2022′s MEN, was released ahead of festival slots at Wiltshire’s End of the Road, Bristol’s Ritual Union and Amsterdam’s indiesleaze. 2023 was an even busier year for Lynks on the festival front and also brought the singles “Use it or Lose It,” “New Boyfriend,” and “(What Did You Expect From) Sex with a Stranger.” Each of these tracks, along with the new year’s “CPR” and “Tennis Song,” appeared on April 2024′s debut full-length, ABOMINATION. ~ James Wilkinson