Elastica will at all times be synonymous with the Nineteen Nineties Britpop motion. But it’s truthful to say the London-based quartet additionally fuelled its personal legend, for its feisty, self-titled debut even outsold Oasis’ storied Undoubtedly Possibly when it topped the U.Okay. album chart within the spring of 1995.
Nonetheless, whereas it’s unimaginable to utterly separate Elastica from Britpop, it’s fully affordable to counsel the report nonetheless would have cracked the mainstream in any case. Nearer in spirit to new wave luminaries Blondie or The Stranglers reasonably than contemporaries resembling Oasis, Blur, and Pulp, the album’s spiky, but alluringly melodic songs exuded a broad attraction. Able to profitable over discerning indie-pop followers at residence, its prime cuts “Stutter” and “Connection” had been additionally accessible sufficient to allure the U.S. faculty radio community, leading to Elastica going gold within the States inside a 12 months of its preliminary launch.
“Connection,” the infectious “Waking Up,” and the sarcastic, groupie-related “Line Up” yielded its highest chart placings, although just about the entire album’s 15 quick, sharp, adroitly-executed songs (including as much as simply 38 minutes in complete) nonetheless sound like they may have been single A-sides. Actually, a few of its deeper cuts are nonetheless arguably superior. Penned by guitarist Donna Matthews,“2:1” is tautly compelling, whereas “Annie,” the fizzing, Buzzcocks-esque “All Nighter,” and the provocative “Car Song” all paint credibly vivid portraits of youthful hedonism. However not all of Elastica is in pursuit of teenage kicks: Frischmann’s uncompromising “Never Here” pulls treasured few punches in detailing a break-up – and it nonetheless sounds smart past its years.
Greeted by virtually uniformly optimistic evaluations – and a nomination for the U.Okay.’s prestigious Mercury Music Prize – Elastica may (and doubtless ought to) have been the beginning of one thing very particular. As an alternative, the pressures of fame shortly impacted on the band. Citing exhaustion, bassist Annie Holland stop through the album’s supporting tour. They soldiered on with a reconfigured lineup, laboring over an underrated second album, The Menace, for a number of years and launched it earlier than splitting for good in 2000. Whereas that launch makes for a notable postscript, Elastica’s exuberant self-titled debut is the place it’s best to begin when exploring the group’s infectious sound.
