EP Review Lynks - Smash Hits Vol. 2

Lynks launches into their second collection of avantgarde bedroom pop with the overt self-deprecation of ‘Everyone’s Hot (And I’m Not)’, unfolding through the sting of rejection caused by a misjudged encounter in a bar. “Everyone’s fit and I’m shit,” they claim over an unrelenting DIY production that brilliantly pairs frustration with an unfaltering level of sarcastic fun, not least when the track breaks the third wall and immediately propels Lynks’ uninhibited personality to the forefront. But for all its superficial frivolity, it’s also an ode to the fragile vulnerability of the LGBT+ community, offering a satirical middle finger to the tropes of attraction that Lynks so effortlessly dispels in their art. It’s this that pushes ‘Smash Hits, Vol. 2’ beyond its simplicity. “So I rip my face off, go to the face shop, buy myself a new face, now I like my face lots,” Lynks muses on ‘Brand New Face’, a sequel of sorts to the opening track and one that further cements their biting blend of upbeat self-ridicule and shade. A carefully crafted new-wave rendition of Courtney Barnett’s ‘Pedestrian At Best’ mirrors the EP’s tongue-in-cheek pessimism, an outcome of the continuous fight to find a place in the world. “Don’t take it personal, I’m just feeling shit today,” Lynks concludes on a record that simultaneously fully embraces their individuality and exposes their fragility, all wrapped up in a pulsing sound begging for a return to sweaty nightclubs.