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Elastica

Elastica

1995

Buy At Rough Trade
Elastica
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.

Wikipedia

Rating

3.24

Votes

10698
Genres
Post Punk
Indie
Britpop

Reviews

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Fri Feb 25 2022
3

This just sounds so generic. It sounds like the music a fake band in a movie would play.

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Wed Sep 01 2021
5

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.

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Mon Sep 07 2020
3

Its 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.

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Wed Jan 19 2022
2

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.

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Tue Jan 25 2022
5

And the award for the band most brazenly ripping off Wire goes to...

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Sat Dec 18 2021
2

spirited, but very derivative (Stranglers. Wire. Buzzcocks.)

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Sat May 27 2023
4

Some really fun femme lead postpunk. A little samey at parts, but tight enough to cover it.

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Sat May 27 2023
4

When I saw they were an offshoot of Suede, I was prepared for the worst... but I was pleasantly surprised that this was a fun post-punk flavor of Britpop that didn't make me want to die of boredom.

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Sat Apr 15 2023
3

soft, never here. just like my dad.

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Mon Feb 01 2021
2

Couldn't really get into this. As much as I've tried, I don't think punk rock is for me.

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Thu Feb 25 2021
2

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!

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Sun May 14 2023
5

I figured I would like this album and indeed I loved it from the opening to the first track. Nice mixture of short and interesting songs that never got stale, in fact it just got better and better the more I listened. It's not quite a 5, but seemed closer to a 5 than a 4.

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Sun Jun 18 2023
4

Very catchy overall. An album that ticks all the boxes.

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Wed Apr 21 2021
3

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

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Sat Sep 25 2021
3

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.

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Fri Jan 28 2022
3

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

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Fri Mar 26 2021
2

Ok I guess, not my thing really

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Wed Apr 21 2021
1

Brit pop itself as a genre is pretty weak and this is a piss poor example. Not entirely without merit, but very nearly. It’s guitar music for people who don’t like guitars.

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Tue May 31 2022
1

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.

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Mon Dec 05 2022
1

Godawful rip off of Wire, Buzzcocks and The Stranglers (and contemporary Blur in a Hole/Nirvana sense). Becomes steadily worse as it goes on. Totally creatively bankrupt, so disappointing to see this come up on the list. Utter shite

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Fri Sep 04 2020
5

Loved it. Seminal brit-pop album from band that should have had much longer run.

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Fri Sep 18 2020
5

One of my favourite albums so yeah 5 stars

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Sat Jan 23 2021
5

This is an all time favorite.

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Thu Feb 11 2021
5

только добрался до них! 5!

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Fri Feb 19 2021
5

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.".

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Mon Mar 01 2021
5

Liked all songs. Easy to listen.

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Wed May 12 2021
5

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.

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Wed Jun 09 2021
5

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

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Tue Jun 15 2021
5

Awesome. Reminds me of Sleater-Kinney

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Mon Sep 20 2021
5

Faaaantastic 90s Punk album. 5 baby.

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Sat Oct 02 2021
5

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.

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Wed Oct 27 2021
5

I enjoyed the music. It was amazing, I added so many of the songs to different playlists to jam out to them.

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Fri Nov 12 2021
5

Really enjoyed this. Wish I’d discovered it when it was first released

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Mon Nov 29 2021
5

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.

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Tue Jan 25 2022
5

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.

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Fri Feb 11 2022
5

1995 - Britpop, Indie rock, Punk rock, Post-punk

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Wed May 04 2022
5

Primo. Better than the often played singles, which are also great.

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Tue May 24 2022
5

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.

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Wed Jun 08 2022
5

Big fan at the time - still love it now.

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Fri Jul 29 2022
5

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.

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Tue Sep 13 2022
5

It was the second time, still a good album!

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Tue Sep 20 2022
5

Discazo de todo un disco de rock con buenas melodías, excelente voces y acompañamiento. Buenas guitarras y batería

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Sun Oct 09 2022
5

Great stuff. Catchy riffs, good energy, bops all round

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Wed Nov 09 2022
5

90’s wire with a female lead singer that’s slept with both Brett Anderson and Damon Albarn. Of course this is amazing!

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Sat Jan 07 2023
5

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

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Mon Feb 20 2023
5

Nice album! Some of it pretty generic but overall, good stuff!! Saved tracks: Connection, Car Song, S.O.F.T, Blue

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Fri Mar 17 2023
5

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.

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Fri Mar 17 2023
5

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.

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Fri Mar 17 2023
5

never heard of them. Is this another drummer-led band? I think, then,... turns out I know & LOVE "connection" for it's edginess and her sexy voice... its 90's joyfully relived, Turns out I would have been a massive fan if I knew them. discovery! Best tracks on first listen are: Smile (oh YEAH on the finish), Connection, Car Song, Blue, (and yet, GREAT drummer, i love their sense of rythmn, and her voice is at an indiscirbable sweet spot of soft refined, and yet a punky edge makes her elusively sexy to listen to.

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Tue Apr 18 2023
5

Never heard of this band and was unsure when it said britpop. This ain't britpop. This was really good. Other reviews say it is derivative of other bands, but if that is true, I am checking out those other bands as well since this was good shit.

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Thu Jun 22 2023
5

Sure, it's "derivative"... Sure, they ripped off Wire... Sure, it's the sort of album that will not be remembered for being groundbreaking or taking any significant risks with its audience... But hell do those songs SLAP you in the face from start to finish. In a year filled with wonders (1995, counting at least *40* essential or absolutely gripping full-length records in my book), this debut manages to end up very high in my own personal ranking. And that is a feat all by itself. Speaking of "years", British post-punk has had a few great ones recently... But I'm pretty sure this poppish version of it here has contributed to keep the flame alive since the subgenre's inception. And even if it didn't, this LP is still a small wonder anyway. Sometimes "essential" doesn't mean "relevant" or "deep" or "sophisticated". Sometimes "essential" means "*Hell, yeah!*" 5/5. Number of albums left to review: 521 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 230 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 110 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 140

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Mon Jun 26 2023
5

Superb. Dancing in the kitchen.

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Mon Jun 26 2023
5

My favourite britpop album, cool riffs and quality irreverant lyrics, still very listenable and a couple of killer tracks

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Mon Jun 26 2023
5

Stylish high octane rock/pop, wow this blew me away. Superb in every department, this is a great discovery

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Wed Jul 12 2023
5

I loved the micro phase of music they co-led with Garbage, Courtney Love, and others. Harder than the Breeders, more fleeting than Sleater-Kinney. Just a blink of the eye.

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Fri Sep 08 2023
5

I was just thinking about this before, so this was interesting to see. Second listen. This album just has so many songs that I like. It’s too bad they don’t have more albums (I haven’t heard The Menace yet). Favorite song: “S.O.F.T.”

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Sun Oct 22 2023
5

Heel fijn plaatje. Helemaal grijsgedraaid destijds, en nog altijd word ik er vrolijk van. Dat heerlijke Engelse accent, en die puntige bas- en gitaarlijntjes. En een leuk feitje: De zangers had destijds een relatie met Damon Albarn, die onder het pseudoniem 'Dan Abnormal' op een paar nummers mee pingelt op de piano.

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Tue Oct 31 2023
5

Girls who rock are always cool in my book, and this album is no exception. Could listen on loop forever.

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Thu Nov 30 2023
5

Very fun album! We can really appreciate all the experience those musicians have here. Rock is not a genre that I peculiarly like usually, but that one is for sure an exception.

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Tue Dec 05 2023
5

I recall listening to Three Girl Rhumba by Wire and the main guitar riff reminding me a lot of Connection by Elastica. Im not sure if I know any other Elastica tracks, but Connection is definitely a banger. Let’s hope here is more of the same here! Songs I already knew: Connection Favourites: Connection, 2:1 This was fantastic, and most certainly to my tastes. It felt raw, but not too raw. It also felt polished, but not too polished. They seem to have landed at the perfect spot for my tastes. The guitars are loud and obnoxious, just how I like them, and the vocals are so very nice. This will most definitely be an album that I’ll be returning to a fair bit.

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Fri Dec 08 2023
5

Elastica is, for all intents and purposes, a one hit wonder. The only well known song they ever produced was Connection, off of this album. They didn't produce anything for another five years and then only three albums altogether. That doesn't mean they weren't good. In fact, one listen to this album and you will realize they were great. Falling somewhere between 90s alternative and riot grrls aesthetics, their eponymous debut, is full of fire and energy. Connection is, of course, the highlight, but there is lots of great material here. Elastica the album, only highlights how sad it is that Elastica the band never really thrived beyond it.

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Wed Dec 20 2023
5

Every song was great, but after reading the other reviews, I guess I need to go listen to Wire.

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Fri Dec 29 2023
5

Wow I really dug this album. Definitely going to check out more from them.

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Sun Dec 31 2023
5

One of my favorite punk albums I've listened to so far. It's kind of modern with it's boldness, energy and catchiness, all in that cool 90s style. Love how it strays from the norm with a women majority line up. Overall it's just a nice breath of fresh air. Really liked it and will come back again.

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Thu Jan 11 2024
5

They got criticized for lifting a riff from Wire, but this album rocks. Gem from the 90s.

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Thu Jan 18 2024
5

This is one of the 90’s best

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Wed Feb 14 2024
5

I've never heard of this group but I love this album

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Fri Feb 16 2024
5

Rockin post punk indie album

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Thu Feb 29 2024
5

Pocos discos dentro de la ola de Britpop me gustan (personalmente) tanto como este. El debut de Elastica es una fabulosa colección de canciones cortas, sumamente entretenidas y seguras de sí mismas. Si bien Damon Albarn de Blur colaboró en la composición de este disco (quizá razón de la por qué se escucha tan interesante, sobre todo si consideramos que Albarn ya contaba con unos cuantos años de experiencia), Justin Frischmann y compañía demuestran porque merecen ser un acto propio y no algo que debería ser relacionado con otras bandas en este bello LP. Sumamente recomendable.

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Sat Apr 10 2021
4

Underrated by the masses, under player by me!

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Thu Sep 03 2020
4

Only 2 songs available of the album on Spotify.

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Fri Feb 12 2021
4

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

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Mon Feb 22 2021
4

ouuu I like this one. Added to my music instantly.

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Fri Jan 29 2021
4

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!

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Fri Jan 22 2021
4

Pretty cool album, I need to know more. It sounds definitely like the 90's and I like these kind of vibes.

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Fri Feb 05 2021
4

Pretty good. Catchy and good background listening.

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Fri Jan 29 2021
4

I'm feeling the fun and energetic post-punk sound, this Aussie gives it four snags at the barbie out of five.

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