Elastica
Elastica
1995
Album Summary
Elastica is the debut studio album by English alternative rock band Elastica. It was released on 14 March 1995 through Deceptive Records. The album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. This is the only album to feature the original line-up, and guitarist Donna Matthews.
WikipediaIts not bad. In fact. Its good. However, its shocking how much Elastica ripped off Wire on quite a few of the songs. Compare I Am The Fly and Line Up or Three Girl Rhumba and Connection.
I saw "britpop" on the wiki and groaned. Not another britpop album! But whoever wrote that genre classification was either an idiot or a sexist who believed that, if it has a female singer, it's pop. Because this isn't pop. This is post-punk rock. And barely post-punk at that. It was tasty as hell and I loved every single track. Will be listening to this again on the regular.
This just sounds so generic. It sounds like the music a fake band in a movie would play.
Not particularly exciting. They also plagiarized Wire. I could forgive that if they at least had some solid songs of their own. It's just another meh album that wasn't awful but is far from special. At least it wasn't EDM like I thought it was going to be for some reason.
Actually enjoyed it - couple of really great tracks and the rest was passable but connection, waking up and stutter are all good tunes... tails off a bit after that
Probably the first time I've listened to this as I was never a fan. It's not changing my mind any so far. Got to the end of it and probably won't go back. Very derivative.
I haven’t seen any of the Fast and Furious movies but this album feels like it could be the soundtrack for one of them pretty fun rock, not really my style but still enjoyable nonetheless, biggest problem for me is it clearly lacks originality, most of this stuff has already been done before (and better) by more talented bands - 6/10
Couldn't really get into this. As much as I've tried, I don't think punk rock is for me.
Another example, of which I find myself questioning the validity and general reasoning for it to be included in a greatest albums of all time list. ‘All time’ means exactly that and in this instance across all music genres...so it makes me scratch my head even harder when a grungy alt rock band with no distinguishable characteristics like this one is included. Yes, if it was released and universally acknowledged as one of the rock band founders of the grunge movement, by all means I’d sing it’s praises and promote it’s inclusion. But it’s not...actually not even close. For example, a well known band who absolutely should be on this list called Nirvana, were releasing material commercially at least five years before this album dropped and there had also been 100’s of knockoffs since then. Not surprisingly most of these bands music sounded very similar. So the fact this album was released in 1995 toward the actual end of the genres height of popularity makes it’s inclusion here even more perplexing to me. So to sum up. I found this album plain and all too familiar...but not in a good way. 2 Stars!
Das schlechteste aus den 80ern (kalte New Wave-Ideenlosigkeit). Obwohl aus den 90ern. Der schlechteste Mix der 80er und 90er und leider ganz viel vom schlechten von heute, quasi. Derlei Bedeutungslosigkeit in einem Erstlingswerk ist schon bemerkenswert.
Loved it. Seminal brit-pop album from band that should have had much longer run.
Had a struggle picking a score for this. I'm going for a five but I was very close to going for a four. I love all these songs, head banging all the way through. The deciding factor was the fact that the songs "2:1" and "Never Here" were a real change of pace and vibe, and I think that was the final bit of variety this album needed to not be too dry and samey. I've heard bands like this before and their sound isn't always as well executed (sounding too muddy). Best thing these guys are doing is having two guitars and the bass sometimes playing three totally different parts throughout - normally I expect punk rock to just have one main riff plodding along. Shout out to the song "Connection" as the theme song to Trigger Happy TV, I used to watch that all the time. Favourite song on here is probably "S.O.F.T.".
I had never heard of Elastica, but it's going to be in my rotation. It was just before my time enough that I'm not surprised I missed it, but so many things I love are clearly inheritors of this sound.
What a great record. Was really surprised by this. Never even heard of them before but this album is great start to finish. Punchy energetic alt rock with some nice grungy and synth pop elements interspersed. Loved it
Driven, punky, spiky Britpop with excellent guitar riffs and driven bass, catchy tunes and if they borrowed too much from The Stranglers and Wire the swagger and sneer of Justine and Donna showed they didn’t give a damn.
I enjoyed the music. It was amazing, I added so many of the songs to different playlists to jam out to them.
Really enjoyed this. Wish I’d discovered it when it was first released
This album is a classic 90s britpop album that is great from start to finish. It also sounds just as fresh as it did 25 years ago. Forty minutes. 16 songs. Most of them, especially the semi-Wire/Stranglers covers, very catchy.
A gnat in a hat. A pig in a wig. A sexy little swine drizzled in cum dancing a jig on the groove of my bum. The major says "who goes there?" and the alley cat sighs and they all end up dead in pursuit of the prize. The candlewick drips in the eye of the snail and the little boy trapped in the belly of the whale. The hourglass breaks and the storm passes through and all that is left is the memory of you.
I thought this album was great. I only knew the one radio hit (Connection) going into this, which I liked years ago. But little did I know that it was far from the best songs on this album. Pleasantly surprised at how great this one was. I'll definitely be listening again.
It's deeply unoriginal as The Stranglers and Wire's bank accounts will attest, but it's so direct and so joyous you'd be heartless not to love this album. Iylt is just SO COOL.
Discazo de todo un disco de rock con buenas melodías, excelente voces y acompañamiento. Buenas guitarras y batería
90’s wire with a female lead singer that’s slept with both Brett Anderson and Damon Albarn. Of course this is amazing!
Unashamedly cops riffs from Wire but we'll forgive them for the fact this is arguably the most fun 38 minutes of the whole Britpop Era
Nice album! Some of it pretty generic but overall, good stuff!! Saved tracks: Connection, Car Song, S.O.F.T, Blue
From the moment I first saw Elastica on Rage, I was a big fan. And I had a huge crush on Justine Frischmann. The song was Stutter - still one of my Top 5 favourite Britpop songs from the 90’s. The look of the band - like who gives a fuck - the low-slung guitars,the thrift-shop clothes & the fabulous, breakneck tune, clocking in at about 2:20. This was well before the album was released & the great singles just kept coming - Line Up, Car Song & the amazing Connection. The album is a great listen - 16 tracks at an average 2&1/2 minutes long per track. It never gets boring, right to the great closer, Vaseline. Yes, they were sued by both Wire &The Stranglers for “borrowing” from their work. But, hey, how many times did The Beatles get sued for the same thing? This is a classic album.
The 90's had some great rock and roll moments, and Elastica is up there with the best. I've always loved a rockin Tele/Strat combo and they have a great rhythm section, especially the drummer. Waking Up, yes I know they were a bit naughty, has always been my favourite and Connection would be in the top ten of 90's zeitgeist moments. Straight out great rock and roll record, loved going back to it.
A super solid album all the way through. Thoroughly 90s, but with a lot of 70s punk elements also mixed with some electronica. 4/5
Another brit-poppy 90s album! I really enjoyed this one, and I feel like it was a lot more sincere then Garbage. I'll probably give it a few more listens over the coming days honestly!
Pretty cool album, I need to know more. It sounds definitely like the 90's and I like these kind of vibes.
I'm feeling the fun and energetic post-punk sound, this Aussie gives it four snags at the barbie out of five.
A favorite in high school. Love the energy. Enjoy the playfulness in some of the sonic touches and phrasing. Fun with an attitude. At times danceable rock. I must say alot of this was has stuck with me after all these years. I feel like Indian Song is a bit filler and makes the album lose some momentum. One thing I really do enjoy about their sound is the prominent bass.
Wow! They were not on my radar but I liked this quite a bit. I was hearing Blur in it, so interesting to find out that Justine Frischmann (lead singer) dated Damon Albarn for several years in the 90's. Found this very easy to listen to, makes me want to listen to their other stuff too.
Yeah, pretty good. Got a lot of mileage out of grungy guitars for a non-grunge band.
Really a 3.5, but I really like the riffs and the female singer. Some great hooks too. Would be great to see live
Como que un gran antecedente directo de varias bandas llamadas indie, no sé, de pronto me recordaba a Metric; aunque otras veces me recordó a Garbage también. Disfrutable, con buenas vibras y uno que otro riff chidito. "Connection" sí fue mi fav, creo, "Indian Song" y "2:1" también me gustaron y en general, la pasé a gusto con Elastica. 8/10
Sí suena mucho a los 90, o sea sí es un sonido muy de su época. Pues me la pasé chido aunque me parece que muchas canciones me pasaron desapercibidas, con lo cual concluyo que no me dan ganas de volver al disco. La que más me gustó fue: S.OF.T. Mood: La banda de Lindsey Lohan en un viernes de locos.
Before this, the only Elastica song I knew was that one from Trigger Happy TV (which turns out to be 'Connection', track 3 of this album). I expected this to be generic 90s Britpop fodder, but it is much better than that. Heavier than expected and nice riffs, rhythm and melodies. The album whips through 15 tracks in 38 minutes, which (apart from a lull at track 8, 'Indian Song', which could have been dropped) keeps the interest and the energy up and doesn't allow time to get bored. 'Connection' and 'S.O.F.T' my highlights, but there is plenty of good stuff on here. I like this a lot and slightly regret missing it at the time, but doubt I'll be motivated to revisit now. 4/5.
While this record is a bit uneven, Stutter is one of the great songs of the 90's. I cannot stress how amazing this song is. My pubic hair uncurls every time I hear it.
A solid punk album. High energy, roaring guitars, and biting vocals. There's some great melodies on this and it bops the whole way through. I don't think the production is as grand as an album like Celebrity Skin, but this hits the mark for me. Favorite song: Stutter
Owned this one way back in the day. This should be an interesting re-listen. Expecting a healthy dose of nostalgia. Hearing a lot of similarities with the band Self, who I would listen to a lot 4-5 years after this album came out. I remember this being sort of a "guilty pleasure" back in the 90's... probably because it's a "girl band." Listening now makes me want to smack myself - this holds up well. I'd love to hear more of this kind of release today with male OR female leads - short, catchy punk songs that are still palatable rather than just noisy. Hearing major Pixies inspiration behind "Waking Up" - probably lots of Pixies influence throughout the album, but it just now hit me. Fuck, this is really good. How many other albums did I casually listen to in the 90's and then forget about (or write off) that are legit classics these days?
super good, a solid 4. This could come out today and it would be great.
I don't know them, but based on the first few seconds of the first song I think I'm going to like them. This album is exactly what I needed this morning. It's the perfect mix of punk and grunge. I'm sad they only had like 2 studio albums now that I've looked them up a bit. I liked this one. I'll give it a 3 or 4.
Wow, this was such a pleasant surprise. I had never heard of this album or this band, but I thoroughly enjoyed this. Was right up my street and really enjoyable to listen to. There was no filler here. A cohesive album full of great songs.
Feels very reminiscent of its era, which isnt a bad thing to me. Every song felt like it could have been on a THPS game
Another album that I loved as a kid. Thankfully I think it has held up quite well and I could still really enjoy it. If you wanted to stick a pin on indie brit rock/pop, then would be the album. Great variety on the songs, some thoughtful, maturre lyrics and virtually no filler
Track one: Hey! Not so bad! Track two: yeah. Picking up nicely here.... Track five: ...sold.
First time listening, was a good time. Great harmonies throughout. Simplistic but effective riffs. Favourite track track would be Indian song.
Great rock, veering right on the edge of the "punk rock" label. Energetic rhythms make this one a breeze to listen through; it's nearly 40 minutes but doesn't drag for a second.
Elastica never had the footing of the big 4 britpop bands, but this album deserves to rank among theirs. Heavily influenced by post-punk, we see it combined with the bright alt rock that britpop is known for, along with an excellent production reminiscent of synth-heavy New Wave, creating an identity that is strictly Elastica.
Absolutely love "Car Song" for some reason. Really liked most of the songs.
Loved this album when it came out and it holds up very well 16 years later. Okay, so one or two tracks are possibly plagiarised (I Am The Fly being the obvious example) but it was all done in the best possible taste.
Pretty good listen, and it did some interesting things. Favorite track is S. O. F. T..
9/27 3.5/5. Lot of quick and catchy songs, pretty enjoyable. Standout Tracks: Line Up, Car Song, S.O.F.T., Waking Up, 2:1
I really liked this album, it had a such a cool sound. I love the britpunk aesthetic a lot, and I appreciate the influence this had.