Elastica | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Elasticas brief, angular, and catchy punk rock became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1995. While the group reworked both the sound and the image of new wave and punk rockers like Adam & the Ants, Wire, the Buzzcocks, and Blondie, the bands songs are more pop-oriented and hook-driven than most of their influences, and Justine Frischmanns cool sexuality is earthier, yet more detached, than Debbie Harrys. Guitarist/vocalist Justine Frischmann began performing professionally in the early 90s, forming Suede with her boyfriend Brett Anderson. In addition to naming the band, Frischmann was the groups original guitarist and continued to perform with them once lead guitarist Bernard Butler joined. However, she left the group soon after her relationship with Anderson ended. Frischmann formed Elastica after leaving Suede in 1991. Recruiting guitarist Donna Matthews, drummer Justin Welch, and bassist Annie Holland through advertisements, the final lineup of the band was set in 1993. Elastica released their first single, the roaring three-chord, two-minute punk rocker "Stutter," at the end of 1993. The single was a limited-edition run and it quickly sold out, thanks to radio airplay and rave reviews. "Line Up" followed a few months later. It also sold very well, yet some critics claimed the band appropriated the melody from Wires "I Am the Fly" for the song. For most of 1994, the group was relatively quiet, playing the occasional concert and recording; nevertheless, the bands name stayed in the British press, largely due to Frischmanns romance with Damon Albarn, the lead singer for Blur, Englands most popular band of 1994. Released in the fall of that year, "Connection," their biggest hit yet, suffered the same criticism, this time for taking the keyboard riff from Wires "Three Girl Rhumba." On the eve of the March 1995 release of their debut album, the group was taken to court by Wires publishers, as well as the publishers of the Stranglers (who claimed Elasticas new single, "Waking Up," took the riff from the punk bands "No More Heroes"); both cases were settled out of court before the album was released. Entering the charts at number one, Elasticas self-titled first album became the fastest-selling debut in the U.K., beating the record Oasis Definitely Maybe set only seven months earlier. As well as being a popular success, the record received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Like Oasis, Elastica managed to have a hit single in America with "Connection"; the single was a major modern rock radio hit, as well as reaching the Top 100 on the singles chart. Elastica continued to make headway in America by replacing Sinead OConnor on the 1995 Lollapalooza tour, although the group suffered a blow when Holland announced her exit from the lineup. A follow-up LP was years in the making, and Elasticas future was the subject of considerable media speculation; in the spring of 1999 Matthews quit as well, although Holland soon returned to the fold, joining new guitarist Paul Jones as well as keyboardists Dave Bush and Mew. A new six-track EP finally appeared late that summer. Their long-awaited sophomore effort, The Menace, was finally released six years after the bands debut. After a year of inactivity, the band released a farewell single in England and announced that their breakup, which had been rumored about them for some time, was, indeed final. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 4 Title: Elastica Released: 1995-03-13 Tracks: 15 Duration: 38:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Line Up (03:15) 2 Annie (01:13) 3 Connection (02:20) 4 Car Song (02:24) 5 Smile (01:40) 6 Hold Me Now (02:32) 7 S.O.F.T. (03:58) 8 Indian Song (02:46) 9 Blue (02:21) 10 All-Nighter (01:33) 11 Waking Up (03:15) 12 2:1 (02:33) 13 Vaseline (01:22) 14 Never Here (04:26) 15 Stutter (02:23) |
| Elastica : Allmusic album Review : Elasticas debut album may cop a riff here and there from Wire or the Stranglers, yet no more than Led Zeppelin did with Willie Dixon or the Beach Boys with Chuck Berry. The key is context. Elastica can make the rigid artiness of Wire into a rocking, sexy single with more hooks than anything on Pink Flag ("Connection") or rework the Stranglers "No More Heroes" into a more universal anthem that loses none of its punkiness ("Waking Up"). But what makes Elastica such an intoxicating record is not only the way the 16 songs speed by in 40 minutes, but that theyre nearly all classics. The riffs are angular like early Adam & the Ants, the melodies tease like Blondie, and the entire band is as tough as the Clash, yet they never seem anything less than contemporary. Justine Frischmanns detached sexuality adds an extra edge to her brief, spiky songs -- "Stutter" roars about a boyfriends impotence, "Car Song" makes sex in a car actually sound sexy, "Line Up" slags off groupies, and "Vaseline" speaks for itself. Even if the occasional riff sounds like an old wave group, the simple fact is that hardly any new wave band made records this consistently rocking and melodic. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 4 Title: 6 Track EP Released: 1999 Tracks: 6 Duration: 16:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 How He Wrote Elastica Man (02:02) 2 Nothing Stays the Same (Donnas Home demo) (02:37) 3 Miami Nice (Home Recording) (03:22) 4 KB (03:12) 5 Operate (03:25) 6 Generator (01:51) |
 | Album: 3 of 4 Title: The Menace Released: 2000-04-03 Tracks: 13 Duration: 39:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Mad Dog God Dam (03:17) 2 Generator (01:52) 3 How He Wrote Elastica Man (02:04) 4 Image Change (03:29) 5 Your Arse, My Place (02:18) 6 Human (03:32) 7 Nothing Stays the Same (02:46) 8 Miami Nice (03:24) 9 Love Like Ours (02:24) 10 KB (03:14) 11 My Sex (04:12) 12 The Way I Like It (02:41) 13 Da Da Da (03:55) |
| The Menace : Allmusic album Review : The wait. Thats all anybody listening for the first time to Elasticas second album, The Menace, will have in mind. Inevitably, with a five-year buildup, the first listen to The Menace will be a letdown, especially for diehards who bought the 6-Track EP -- the full-length album contains four of those songs, albeit in (mostly) re-recorded versions. That initial disappointment fades fairly quickly, however, since this is an ideal second Elastica record. Since it sounds like a quick sequel to a hit record -- a simple step forward instead of a great leap into the unknown -- it naturally would have made more sense in 1996 or 1997. Of course, theyd tried to record the album numerous times between late 1996 and 1999, so this material had been kicking around for a while, until it was finally cut in a concentrated burst of creativity. Elastica bashed out all 13 songs in a matter of weeks, and The Menace teems with energy and excitement. Where Elastica was smart, sexy, and hooky, The Menace is cerebral, dense, harsh, and dissonant, a culmination of their obsession with such detached avatars of post-punk cool as Wire and the Fall (whose Mark E. Smith guests on "How He Wrote Elastica Man"). Its a subtle shift, since much of their signature sound remains in place -- angular riffs, spiky hooks, Frischmanns cool vocals -- but its noticeable nevertheless, especially since there is no obvious single. A handful of cuts are still just as catchy in their own way as the hits on Elastica; what separates them is that here, the band is as enamored with chaos as they are with hooks. Other than that, the main difference is the preponderance of eerie, slower numbers, something totally absent from the debut. These are often built on layers of synths and tend to be considerably more reflective than the rest of the material, demonstrating the bands musical progression. It may not be the huge progression that some groups make after five years, but it is certainly a consolidation of their strengths and a restatement of purpose as Elastica the art-punk band. So its a pretty damn terrific second album, a tight yet layered record that delivers -- albeit incrementally -- on the promise of the debut. But, of course, it cant be judged just on that level. Dedicated fans and gossips alike will be probing for clues, not just for why the band was out of commission for an abnormally long time, but for confirmation of persistent drug abuse rumors, the rifts that led to Donna Matthews departure, and, ultimately, the dissolution of Frischmanns romance with Blurs Damon Albarn (the basis of Blurs 1999 album 13). It should come as no surprise that the coolly detached Frischmann offers almost no musical or lyrical clues on any front -- as a matter of fact, she even includes two of Matthews songs. But if youre in the habit of reading too much into things, consider the following. Frischmann closes The Menace with a cover of Trios "Da Da Da," whose chorus -- "I dont love you/You dont love me" -- provides a wonderfully succinct counterpoint to Blurs sometimes overwrought 13. However, a certain Norman Balda plays "extra keys" on "Da Da Da" -- certainly the same Dan Abnormal who played keyboards on Frischmanns first Elastica record. And, given everything thats passed in private and public between the two, thats a more generous gesture than including a couple of tunes from a departed bassist. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 4 Title: The Radio One Sessions Released: 2001 Tracks: 21 Duration: 52:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Annie (01:15) 2 Spastica (02:34) 3 Line Up (03:12) 4 Vaseline (01:20) 5 Brighton Rock (01:56) 6 In the City (01:31) 7 Waking Up (03:17) 8 Four Wheeling (02:24) 9 Hold Me Now (02:23) 10 Ba Ba Ba (02:29) 11 Gloria (03:01) 12 I Wanna Be a King of Orient Aah (02:01) 13 Rockunroll (02:12) 14 2:1 (02:25) 15 I Want You (04:05) 16 Only Human (03:24) 17 A Love Like Ours (02:27) 18 KB (03:13) 19 Da Da Da (03:41) 20 Generator (01:47) 21 Your Arse My Place (01:46) |
| The Radio One Sessions : Allmusic album Review : Given the shockingly anticlimactic second and third acts of Elasticas career, its easy to forget why they were considered one of the greatest, most exciting acts of the mid-90s -- not just one of the leading lights of Britpop, but one of the few to be acclaimed critically in the States (who, after the first Suede album, pretty much ignored Britpop until 1996, after it had peaked). Their eponymous debut offers a reminder why they were so highly regarded, but to hear what they really sounded like in the thick of things, to bring the era back to life in vivid color, The Radio One Sessions is needed. This is crackling, kinetic rock & roll, created with sharp angles, piercing hooks, thundering backbeats, slyly jaded debauchery, and overwhelming, unbearably hot sexuality. All this hangs stronger here, amid the songs that never made it past B-sides, or even those that didnt make it that far, not just because the band is looser, rocking harder, but because this plays to the groups strengths. There are no misguided "Indian Song"s, no soul-baring tunes like "Never Here," just tightly wound, thrilling alive art punk-pop, rarely longer than two minutes and 30 seconds. Listening to their first five sessions -- tracks one through 14 -- Elastica sound as good as a rock band could hope to be, even when theyre performing carols for John Peels Christmas broadcast. The Radio One Sessions dips off a bit with the sixth radio session -- a set from 1996, when they added electronica beats while flailing around, trying to find a way to follow their fluke success -- but it ends on a high note, with their final session, when they pulled it all together for a fine second effort that sounded a lot like the first. But all this doesnt hurt what is really one of the greatest, and most necessary, BBC sessions yet -- yeah, a lot of this has circulated on bootleg before (after all, Elastica came of age during the great boot boom of the 90s, when every group had at least five boots easily available), but this is music so good, it not only deserves to be out officially, fans wont mind buying it again. | ||