LYNKS + TATYANA + SHELF LIVES – CHALK, BRIGHTON 16.4.24
Listening and watching LYNKS putting it frankly is the most fun that you can have with your clothes on! Or if you prefer (in the comfort of your own home) with your clothes off! If you are feeling down in the dumps and need a legal pickup the LYNKS and his Lynks Shower Gel friends are just the tonic for you! The act originally hailed from Bristol but now by all accounts is London based, but we are informed that LYNKS dad is actually from Brighton and that his family are in attendance this evening including his grandad! I hope they danced as much as we did!
We have had the pleasure of witnessing a few previous LYNKS shows and they always bring a great big beaming smile across my face. It’s like the LYNKS ‘masked drag monster’ is the new Divine! The 2020 lockdowns ironically did LYNKS a favour as the released output during that period was pretty epic! There was ‘Pandemic! (Self-Isolation Tape No.1)’, ‘Recession! (Self-Isolation Tape No.2)’, ‘Extra Sad Cream! (Self-Isolation Tape No.3)’ and ‘Arts & London! (ft. Mandy Visuals) | Lynks’ Self-Isolation Tape No.4’ to start with in the Spring. The seven tune ‘Smash Hits Vol.1 – EP’ and ‘Smash Hits Vol 1.5 – All Star Charity Remix Edition’ followed in the Summer, and then ‘Pedestrian At Best’ and ‘Brand New Face’ followed in the Autumn. Come January 2021, the 5-track ‘Smash Hits, Vol. 2’ was unleashed. This was followed by ‘Silly Boy’ a year later and then summer 2022 the trio of tracks on ‘MEN’ arrived. The pace hasn’t slowed after lockdown either with the release of four singles (‘Use It Or Lose It’, ‘New Boyfriend’, ‘(What Did You Expect From) Sex With A Stranger’ and ‘CPR’) ahead of the brand new 13 track ‘Abomination’ LP which dropped on 12th April and the reason we are gathered this evening at Chalk in Pool Valley, Brighton.
Once you witness a live performance from LYNKS, it’s almost certain that you will never forget! And I suspect tonight is also one of these as we are treated to 19 different segments of music which is expertly choreographed to within an inch of their lives. You have to be super-fit to be able to wade yourself through a LYNKS dance routine and this evening set lasted a total of 82 minutes, including the initial technical hitches on opener ‘Abomination’ from the album of the same name. The speed was out on the backing music and so still dressed in their monks’ habits, they went off stage, smacked the naughty unit and came back on and went through the tune from the top. We were told that this had never happened before, but in a funny kinda way it added to the charm of the event, anyway LYNKS and chums weren’t put off at all.
LYNKS enquired who was at their previous Brighton show, which was at the more compact Komedia basement, which LYNKS remembered the stage having a very low ceiling and itself being just off the ground, unlike tonight’s impressively high and expansive stage. Last time around the Lynks Shower Gel were Kate, Ella and Cameron, but this time there are just two folk on stage. More about them later.
The atmosphere throughout the room was of pure joy as this queer icon was winning many new friends who had not witnessed one of the raucous pop/dance (stage) cabaret shows before. The energy levels of the trio was seen to be believed, but they could grab the occasional rest when required, which wasn’t often. Next up was LYNKS rendition of the 2015 tune by Courtney Barnett ‘Pedestrian At Best’, which is from her debut album titled ‘Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit’. This Bobby O and Patrick Cowley-esque version can be found on Lynks ‘Smash Hits, Vol. 2’ EP.
The stage props this evening were two large red inflatable hands and a dark red collage boudoir style as a backdrop. ‘CPR’ (from the 2024 ‘Abomination’ album) is delivered next with its deep bass notes and already by now the venue is electric. ‘Room 116’ also from ‘Abomination’ follows with its Suicide (the USA band) backbeat and great use of torches as props added to the atmosphere. ‘(What Did You Expect From) Sex With A Stranger’ came next and was penned about ‘a meet’ on the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) having previously been agreed on the Tinder dating app. This tune reminded me of a speeded up version of the epic, but forgotten, 1980 synthpop single ‘Lawnchairs’ by the criminally underrated New York trio of Our Daughters Wedding.
LYNKS said that it has been a difficult year for this girl and they launched into their version of ‘Speed Drive’ by Charli XCX from ‘Barbie The Album’, the soundtrack of the 2023 film ‘Barbie’...cue blond wigs! After which there is a Lynks Shower Gel “dancer interlude”, with the two green lasers either shining out from side of the stage to an electro backbeat, whilst Lynks has temporarily left the stage. ‘New Boyfriend’ is next and LYNKS boldly returns to the stage wearing a wedding dress and a spikey trademark mask and holding a flower bouquet and uttering the words “It’s my special day”. Mid tune the flowers get thrown into the crowd, which gets an enormous cheer. And of course being a wedding celebration there is some Shloer sparkling juice drink on offer which Lynks Shower Gel shakes and explodes all over us at the front. I was drenched, but loving it! We even had to briefly crouch down and jump up again as requested and chocolates were also on offer.
The Confidence Man-esque ‘Everyone’s Hot (And I’m Not)’ was their next selection and a great bangin’ beat it has too. ‘Tennis Song’ now arrived and reminded me of OMD’s ‘Electricity’ single but played at 33RPM instead of 45RPM. Lynks Shower Gel were dressed the part had hit yellow soft balls into the crowd with their tennis rackets. The green lasers were back for the next tune, this being ‘I Feel Like Shit’ and after this LYNKS inform us that the next tune is about another demon, this time around it being toxic masculinity and the song was the Vengaboys-ish ‘Silly Boy’ from the 2022 ‘MEN’ EP. This is an easy to learn chant style number. The absolutely terrific electro 808 meets Kraftwerk’s ‘Numbers’ style track in the form of the ‘Lynks Things’ was their next offering.
It was the time in the show for the trio to have a rest from their energetic dance routine and so in the form of a ‘Merch Catwalk’ all those involved with the show would each individually come on stage from the rear with each plugging an item of merch. It certainly worked as the queue afterwards was impressively long, with ourselves at the very rear, having put the cameras away and said our goodbye. As far as I could hear, there was Jack (the female Lynks Shower Gel), Karien or could that be Cameron again (the male Lynks Shower Gel), Stage Manager Kate, Tour Manager Lauren, Sabrina from Shelf Lives sporting a beanie hat, Tatyana wearing summer vest, and not forgetting Frazer at the back of the house. After this parade we had the final number of the main set, this being ‘Use It Or Lose It’ with its bangin’ dance beat.
The trio vacated the stage and we hollered for more and were rewarded with the Erasure-esque ‘Flash In The Pan’ with LYNKS alone on the stage now sporting the denim look and eventually being joined by Lynks Shower Gel who held a mini disco ball above LYNKS head on a stick. The Confident Man sounding ‘Str8 Acting’ (from 2020 ‘Smash Hits Vol.1’ EP) was next complete with handheld confetti cannons. Briefly vacating the stage again, they almost immediately came back and gave us another comical gem in the form of the unreleased ‘How To Make A Béchamel Sauce In 10 Steps (With Pictures)’, which is the actual recipe on how to do so with visual assistance from Lynks Shower Gel…“continue adding milk”, we all sang. The set concluded and they were rewarded with a deafening noise from the very happy punters. LYNKS is feel good factor music and it’s been a truly wonderful night out.
LYNKS setlist:
(Intro tape: ‘Leviticus 18’) (from 2024 ‘Abomination’ album)
‘Abomination’ (from 2024 ‘Abomination’ album)
‘Pedestrian At Best’ (Courtney Barnett cover) (from ‘Smash Hits, Vol. 2’ EP)
‘CPR’ (from 2024 ‘Abomination’ album)
‘Room 116’ (from 2024 ‘Abomination’ album)
‘(What Did You Expect From) Sex With A Stranger’ (from 2024 ‘Abomination’ album)
‘Cobrastyle’ / ‘Speed Drive’ (Charli XCX cover) (unreleased)
‘(Dancer Interlude)’
‘New Boyfriend’ (from 2024 ‘Abomination’ album)
‘Everyone’s Hot (And I’m Not)’ (from ‘Smash Hits, Vol. 2’ EP)
‘Tennis Song’ (from 2024 ‘Abomination’ album)
‘I Feel Like Shit’ (from 2024 ‘Abomination’ album)
‘Silly Boy’ (from 2022 ‘MEN’ EP)
‘Lynks Thinks’ (from 2024 ‘Abomination’ album)
‘(Merch Catwalk)’
‘Use It Or Lose It’ (from 2024 ‘Abomination’ album)
(encore 1)
‘Flash In The Pan’ (from 2024 ‘Abomination’ album)
‘Str8 Acting’ (from 2020 ‘Smash Hits Vol.1’ EP)
(encore 2)
‘How To Make A Béchamel Sauce In 10 Steps (With Pictures)’ (unreleased)
LYNKS music can be found on Bandcamp.
The first support act this evening was Shelf Lives who are based in London and is the brainchild of Sabrina and Jonny. Sabrina is from Toronto and Jonny is from Northampton and they make the type of music that everyone describes differently. It’s a little bit punk, it’s a little bit alt pop, it’s a little bit electronic with a hip hop cherry on top. We have reviewed them before on at least three occasions, but it is tonight that I truly fall under their spell for the first time, on account of their change of musical direction and overall vibe. Previously Sabrina has at times been too confrontational but this evening during their 33 minute 12 tune set, which ran from 6:48pm to 7:21pm, everything is absolutely fine. In fact they are a joy to behold. Never thought I would be saying that about them three years on from my first encounter.
They kick off with ‘Shelf Life’ which is the first of four compositions found on their 2022 ‘Yes, Offence’ album. Sabrina is on lead vocals and keys and Jonny is very much the axeman on his guitar, but he does utilise the same keyboard from time to time this evening, as well as offering up vocals when required. A majority of their sound is on presets, but it’s still loud enough to enjoy. Unfortunately due to their really early start, the venue is almost empty from the outset. But their electro dance tunes were forcing the folk that were present to start jigging around. In reference to their early start Sabrina says “Thanks for coming from your stupid jobs to this room”, as in meaning “Well done for getting down here early”. After two more from the ‘Yes, Offence’ album (‘I Don’t Like Me You’ and ‘Shock Horror’), they arrive at last year’s ‘All The Problems’ single with its Numan-esque keyboards and Beastie Boys vibe.
Their 2022 ‘Skirts & Salads’ single is up next and followed by the first of four straight tunes from their ‘You Okay?’ EP from last year, this being ‘Off The Rails’, and followed by ‘PVC Real Estate’, ‘I Don’t Think I’ll Go Out Today’ and ‘All Grown Up’. These are all solid bodies of work and of varying speeds, and ‘I Don’t Think I’ll Go Out Today’ being the handclap friendly track and ‘All Grown Up’ having the vibe of The Prodigy. They then performed their newest tune, the unreleased ‘Uncle Fred’ with its initial scream intro and severe punk riffage and “Jesus freak” references. It even felt like a cross of the Beastie Boys meets Motorhead. There were hardly any gaps in between the songs and the momentum continued until the end of their set, which featured their 2023 ‘BITE’ single and ‘KIDS’ from 2023 ‘You Okay?’ EP. It was a great performance and I would most certainly now wish to see Shelf Lives performing live again.
Shelf Lives:
Sabrina Di Giulio – vocals, keyboards
Jonny Hillyard – guitar, bass, keyboards
Shelf Lives setlist:
‘Shelf Life’ (from 2022 ‘Yes, Offence’ album)
‘I Don’t Like Me You’ (from 2022 ‘Yes, Offence’ album)
‘Shock Horror’ (from 2022 ‘Yes, Offence’ album)
‘All The Problems’ (a 2023 single)
‘Skirts & Salads’ (a 2022 single)
‘Off The Rails’ (from 2023 ‘You Okay?’ EP)
‘PVC Real Estate’ (from 2023 ‘You Okay?’ EP)
‘I Don’t Think I’ll Go Out Today’ (from 2022 ‘Yes, Offence’ album)
‘All Grown Up’ (from 2023 ‘You Okay?’ EP)
‘Uncle Fred’ (unreleased)
‘BITE’ (a 2023 single)
‘KIDS’ (from 2023 ‘You Okay?’ EP)
The second support act on the tour is Tatyana and according to her Bandcamp page she was “born in London, before moving to Russia, Holland and Singapore in her teens, before eventually studying music at Berklee College in the USA – which she attained on full scholarship – and then back to London. Tatyana imbues her music with both haywire technical proficiency and encyclopaedic, far-flung tastes. Mostly, though, her sound originates from a pure love of the dancefloor: Robyn, Tirzah, Mica Levi, Jessy Lanza, The Knife. You can hear these dance-pop influences everywhere, from the colourful synth shapes of ‘Control ft. Dave Okumu’ to the crackling analogue hiss of ‘Nothing Is True, Everything Is Possible’ and the swirling, undulating melodies of ‘Out Of Time’. Lean in a little closer, too, and you might catch the shimmer of a harp on every song (she’s played harp since she was a little girl, and toured extensively as a professional session harpist)”.
Tatyana takes to the Chalk stage at 7:36pm and thrills us with her seven choice cuts from her new ‘It’s Over’ album which was penned last summer and released on 22nd March this year. Her performance duration is 32 minutes and it successfully concludes at 8:08pm. Tatyana cuts a striking figure who is sporting a black Ahsoka Tano style ‘Star Wars’ headwear, a Rioja coloured bra top, and black trousers. Black being the dominant colour of choice as her harp is black with differing coloured strings, her ARP Odyssey synth is black, as is her laptop. She opened with ‘Hold My Hand’ and firstly plucked away at her harp before moving across to her synth and laptop as the dancebeat kicked in. She also has a vocal effects unit on the go. ‘Hold My Hand’ segues straight into the title track and final tune of her ‘It’s Over’ album and it’s certainly time for everyone to don their dancing shoes for this club friendly material.
Her third selection was ‘Down Bad’ which has some really decent Kraftwerk style beats courtesy of the synth and it’s a swinging house style number. This was followed by ‘Nothing Is True, Everything Is Possible’ plus ‘Control’ and around this time Tatyana said that “this is a deep house version” and that she would also be singing the lines that Dave Okumu has sung on the album. She began at the harp for ‘Control’ and then the silky smooth backbeat kicked in…niiiice! The choice cut of the set. Tatyana took the vibe right down for the penultimate song, ‘Out Of Time’ as she played a ballad on the harp which surely would dent the singles charts if released as a single. She ended on a high with an ‘Axel F’ (Harold Faltermeyer) styled keys dancey number which is called ‘Bird Of Prey’.
Tatyana:
Tatyana Phillips – vocals, harp, synth, laptop
Tatyana setlist:
‘Hold My Hand’ (from 2024 ‘It’s Over’ album)
‘It’s Over’ (from 2024 ‘It’s Over’ album)
‘Down Bad’ (from 2024 ‘It’s Over’ album)
‘Nothing Is True, Everything Is Possible’ (from 2024 ‘It’s Over’ album)
‘Control’ (from 2024 ‘It’s Over’ album)
‘Out Of Time’ (from 2024 ‘It’s Over’ album)
‘Bird Of Prey’ (from 2024 ‘It’s Over’ album)
