ABOMINATION

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  Vortex's Album of the Year List '24

  Tom

  Lynks is very gay. That's probably important to know; their debut album ABOMINATION is unapologetically queer, sex-filled, and abrasive.

  I actually first heard Lynks on the radio; it was the production that drew my attention, and that's immediately noticeable on ABOMINATION too. Their voice is distorted, tinny, recessed, and they don't really even sing! Imagine that. Yet their delivery is so compelling, punctuated by heavy, repetitive bass and odd production flourishes everywhere. When you hear a Lynks track, you know it's a Lynks track.

  But, of course, this album is about more than sounding good. It's a full-throated celebration of queer and gay culture, but what's more unique is how its problems are highlighted too. You're plunged straight into this with USE IT OR LOSE IT, a irony-fuelled description of gay men's obsession with chasing youth: "And I still don't know what it means to be a gay man over 40/Unless I'm Ian McKellen or Grahan Norton/It's what every film, TV show, book has taught me/My life ends the day I'm not invited to the orgy". ...Yeah, sounds about right.

  A whole album about this might sound a little sombre, but these tracks never take themselves too seriously. New Boyfriend, a chugging dance anthem, is so potently unserious that you can't help but laugh ("You said we were gonna be friends/Say it with me: Friends don't give each other head!"). It's fizzy, infectious, and very fun.

  Then comes CPR, which, yes, is actually about CPR. Probably. For a song that never mentions sex, this is... very sexy? That's kink for you, I guess. If you, too, want a handsome man to break your ribs, you'll like this track! It helps that it sounds so damn good, too; Lynks has a very distinct production style that's very warm without losing any of its edge. Next comes (WHAT DID YOU EXPECT FROM) SEX WITH A STRANGER, an absolute favourite of mine. Featuring one of the chewiest, bounciest synths I've ever heard and a breakneck persistence, Lynks bemoans the sorry state of hookup culture, projecting their moral compass onto potentially judgemental women on the Underground. Romance isn't dead, it's just in a coma! This kind of sums gay culture up; everyone wants sex, everyone knows that it's not going to be good sex, and yet you gotta do it! There's nothing of substance to be found, but yet we chase "some intimacy, without the intimacy" for eternity. Lynks sums up the scene with such succinctness, such accuracy, and it's something I haven't particularly seen anyone else talking about it. Respect.

  After this minor existential crisis, Lynks spends the midpoint of ABOMINATION spiralling deeper into depression. Tennis Song, in which Lynks finds a potential match after taking up tennis only to find out the suitor was not only straight but in a relationship, shows exactly why gay men turn to quick sex rather than relationships: it kind of sucks finding a boyfriend! It's hard, and painful, and not very fun. The song sounds very numb, which only adds to the sense of misery.

  Then we get I FEEL LIKE SHIT. Industrial bass, frothy drums, deadpan delivery, "On a scale of one to nine, I'm a zero out of ten"; they just feel like shit, and the therapy apps, self-care industry, and infinite exercise tips aren't exactly making them feel better. It is what it is.

  The album picks up again with ABOMINATION, a slimy, throbbing mess of a track in the best way possible. By this point, the gay track tackling Christian homophobia has been done many times before, but as always there's a Lynksian twist here; a touch of the macabre in a few killer lines that are wholly serious for the first time on the album. You can see why it's the title track.

  There's more sincerity in the back half of this project; we get more exhaustion in SMALLTALK, and "I'm so happy I could die" energy in LUCKY. For me, though, Lynks is best when they're completely off the rails, and we get a lot of that in LYNKS THINKS*.

  Hearing this for the first time is exactly like witnessing the coming of Christ. This is what Lynks is all about! Being queer, celebrating it, and going hard as fuck at the same time. I love this album because it expresses thoughts about things I've long felt needed to be discussed more whilst being a damn good time. Hell of a first album. I can't wait to see what Lynks makes next.