Elastica

3.5

I actually gave this two listens because I was kinda borderline on it. I can really see why I was in to this when "Connection" was the big alt hit. In fact this album is at its best when it's hitting that dirty alt Britpop sound . There were other songs that seemed to channel Blondie (pre *Parallel Lines* era, when they still had their punkier edge). I really enjoyed those. But there were tracks here and there that kind of really didn't land in either category. I think overall the album feels a bit disjointed but I really enjoy most of what is represented throughout the album

Quite cool girl rock with a punk edge, but nothing very inventive. 3.5 stars

Some really good songs -- "Line Up", "Connection", "Stutter", "All-Nighter", but also some filler. I do give Elastica credit for having a different sound among all the Britpop in the mid-90s. High 3.5.

Pretty cool. A bit like Blur but with chicks in. Also a bit of Breeders, a bit of Blondie and apparently a great train robbery of Wire although I’m not going to go out of my way to listen out to Wire to find out until they appear on this list. Whilst it all sounds pretty cool, alty and fresh for the often super stale Britpop era, the riff to Connection was the only thing to snap back to my memory once the album ended. The rest simply bounced in one ear and out the other. For one actual catchy song it’s a bit of a stretch to add this one to 1001 albums. Boing boing!

Although this is the first time I've heard anything about "Elastica", I have to say that I loved their album. Although released in the 90s, they have a sound that reminds me a lot of "The Last Dinner Party" but with a more rebellious attitude that comes from their more punk-oriented sound.

i love women in men's fields! (britpop vocalist). good shit. annie and car song went straight on the playlist. why did we skip straight to 2000s revival? we need cool girls to be making music like this again

Much like the gogos, right out of the gate with their own sound, but much more complex and rich. Not sure if blur stole from them or vice versa. Seems like maybe a sad story with their lead guitarist. Dig her angular ass riffs though. Damon Albarn helping out back when he knew how to actually rock

Típico rock noventoso. Nada para destacar.

Another band I saw live once (Lollapalooza 95) but had almost forgotten. I remember their hit song (Connection) and the controversy surrounding their supposed ripping the riff from a Wire song. But I don't think I had ever heard this album before. It's not bad at all. Certainly sounds like the 90s indie rock of the day. As far as female fronted 90s indie rock goes, there were much better options. I can't believe the Breeders don't have one in this book. Decent album. Just not sure it's worthy of this honor. 3/5 Album 25/1001

Good album

Fun and fast.

Fun riffs, very very catchy band...I lose it with the lyrics, not great.

First time listening to them and I really liked this album. I loved the guitar tone and the vocals. They have an easy intensity where the band sounds completely locked in and relaxed, but at the same time it rocks pretty hard. Good discovery for me.

A beautiful thing about the "1001 albums you have to hear before you die" book is how you'll see an album and think "How did this manage to make its way here?". I think the rating speaks the rest. ⭐⭐

Fun britpop albums , with 2 ripoffs

Girl punk. These bands always have the same issue. The backing music is so much louder than the vocals and you can’t understand/hear what they are saying. 6/10

I heard good things about this album before so I was disappointed after I finished listening to it - it is just too generic, samey, and I don't really like the singer's voice either. I recognised some hits but otherwise it is not really my thing.

Derivative but undeniably catchy fun.

Pretty good electropop, Nothing kicks like “Connection”, so they probably did steal it whole from Wire. But it’s fun, the songs are short and fast, and they sound cool.

Decent girl rock, hard to understand much of the lyrics. It was missing something, maybe better production?

Really surprised E how good this was actually, sounds decent. High 4.

I like Elastica. 3.3

Like it but didn't LOVE it

This took me right back to high school!! Great album!

Alright

Slaps

sorry justine i don’t really have anything interesting to say about this album except that it’s fun and i like it and i don’t care whether they ripped off wire. fav tracks: annie; car song; S.O.F.T.; hold me now; waking up; indian song

yasssss (and also slay) i think the post-punk-ness of this is balanced by the pop-ness of it which makes it more tolerable genre to me than just post-punk. There are definitely moments that I hear the punk influences more (which normally isn't my fave) but they're complemented by a pop sound, and softened by the vocals which are relatively "pretty" (?) for the genre, so I'm able to enjoy this album even when the tracks lean more into genres that I normally don't love (such as the aforementioned post-punk, as well as the grunge-influenced "S.O.F.T."). fav tracks: Stutter, Hold Me Now, Connection, Annie, S.O.F.T.

My introduction to Elastica came not through NME or MTV, but through the most gloriously unhinged show on television at the time: Trigger Happy TV. Every time that opening riff from “Connection” kicked in, with Dom Joly charging through the streets in a dog costume or answering a giant phone in a library, it hit me like a jolt of energy. That clipped, mechanical riff became fused in my mind with a specific feeling: late nights, VHS tapes, and the sense that the UK at the time was just a little cooler. Even without the television tie-in, Elastica would’ve stood out. In a Britpop landscape dominated by lad rock and posturing, they stood out like a ripped fishnet stocking at a prep school reunion. Their lineup alone (a majority-female band in a scene that was anything but) made them look different, but it was their sound that really set them apart. Elastica didn’t borrow from The Beatles or The Kinks like their peers did. They went straight for Wire, The Stranglers, Gang of Four. You can hear that post-punk DNA all over the record—the angular guitar lines in “Line Up,” the clipped, repetitive rhythm guitar in “Connection,” the minimalist groove of “2:1.” It’s like they plucked the sharpest elements of late-‘70s punk and new wave and refashioned them into tight, sardonic pop songs. Musically, Elastica is lean, fast, and focused. No song overstays its welcome. The guitars are jagged but never messy, the drums punchy but never flashy. It’s a record that values efficiency. Songs often end right before you expect them to, leaving you wanting more. The production, mostly handled by Alan Moulder, captures the rawness of a live band in a tiny room without ever sounding lo-fi. It’s punk that is polished just enough to fit on the radio. The highlights are many. “Line Up” is a bratty, brilliant opener. “Stutter” is flirtatious and frantic. “2:1” leans into noir-ish minimalism. “Waking Up” is pure sarcasm wrapped in a sugar pill. And, of course, “Connection” remains the crown jewel. It’s still as addictive, biting, and tightly wound as ever. It's rare for a band's biggest hit to also be their most artistically representative, making “Connection” all the more impactful. Justine Frischmann’s vocals are a key part of the magic. She’s not trying to out-sing anyone. Her delivery is rhythmic, cool, and often purposefully flat. There's a kind of nonchalance in her voice that perfectly mirrors the band’s lyrical themes: disaffection, casual sex, restlessness, the mundanity of urban life. She was a master of deadpan wit. On “Stutter,” she cuts right to the core of an awkward relationship moment with the line, “Is there something you forgot to tell me?” delivered so casually it feels like a shrug in lyric form. Sadly, this debut also turned out to be the band’s high-water mark. Internal struggles, lawsuits (hello, Wire), and the pressures of sudden success tore them apart. Their follow-up, The Menace, wouldn’t arrive until five years later, and it was a messier, less essential listen. That only elevates the legacy of Elastica, an album that manages to encapsulate a moment without ever sounding trapped in it. Looking back, it’s no wonder this record made it into 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. It’s a debut that burns hot, fast, and bright. An album that helped broaden Britpop’s palette and prove that cool didn’t have to shout to be heard. Its influence can still be heard in modern-day indie bands who favor brevity, wit, and wire-tight guitar work over grandeur (I'm Looking at you Wet Leg). In an era of algorithmic bloat, there's something refreshing about an album that gets in, makes its point, and walks out before you’ve even finished your coffee. And for me, it’ll always carry the echo of a man in a giant phone suit screaming “HELLO?” across a silent park.

Hey I own this CD! Way better than I remember, but Stutter still towers over the rest. Also can we cool it on every British band? I like American music, do you like American music?

Ziemlicher Schieber

pretty cool album with lots of energy.

Bit strange but also a slay. I like the expressive vocals. Lyrics can be quite crude but also fun.

Enjoyed the record, definitely hearing the similarities to Wire, particularly some of the guitar riffs. Found the album enjoyable throughout with some great post-punk energy mixed with 90s rock.

Meh. Singles are okay - rest is very average. Never really got the hype.

Elastica I’ve always liked the well known songs off this, Line Up, Connection, Car Song, Waking Up and while the rest of the album doesn’t quite reach the level of those songs it’s still a very enjoyable wiry, post-punk, Britpop adjacent album. The riffs, bass and drums are very good, and I like Justine’s slightly bored sounding vocals, it suits the aesthetic they are going for well. However from time to time I do find their schtick a little bit affected, there’s more than a touch of performative cooler than thou iciness, wearing their obvious influences in a slightly hipster way. Plenty of my favourite bands nick stuff from other bands and rip people off, but if talent borrows but genius steals they are definitely on the talent end of that. Connection, while great, is essentially a rather routine rip off 3 Girl Rhumba by Wire, and you can plainly hear more Wire, The Stranglers, Magazine and Blondie (and Spinal Tap at one point). Having said that, there are no really bad songs, it’s all very listenable (and doesn’t outstay its welcome at 38 minutes), even if it doesn’t linger on the mind too long after listening. I’d happily play it again, although I’m not sure how frequently I’d seek it out, which I think makes it a solid 3. 🚙🎵🎵 Playlist submission: Line Up

Like so many Britpop-era bands, a peak at the debut album and then a fade into obscurity. A short, snappy, and catchy new-wave revival album, taking in Blondie and The Stranglers on the way. What else do you want? Well maybe a bit more originality seeing as at least half of it is ripped off. I think an album very much diluted by filler, but with some nice energetic, derivative highlights - in fact a few absolute Britpop classics. And a modus operandi that generally means you finish the song after a couple of minutes. I like that. I think it all balances out.

I loved these guys when I saw them lose to Sex Bob-Omb at the battle of the bands.

Not quite as excited as Veruca Salt. Not as talented as Sonic Youth. Not as visceral as Hole. Not as loud as Bikini Kill. Unfortunately not as interesting as any of them. Just kinda bland? I don’t mind it at al just don’t get why it’s here.

Upbeat and fun. Sounds a decade earlier than it is but that doesn't detract from it. Enjoyable listen that I won't get upset at youtubemusic for putting it in my algorithm.

Definitely good songs and mood Never listened to then before and I had a cool experience, completely atemporal and fresh. Reminded me a band called Pacifica, I guess that's where Pacifica got inspiration from hahaha.

This was fine. I liked some songs, I didn't really care for others, but nothing was really fantastic or distinguishable from any other 90s alt/grunge/rock. I feel like I heard one of these songs in an episode of some 30-minute sitcom in 1996. I'd throw one or two songs on a playlist in the future and enjoy it, but I don't need to listen to the full album again.

> the Beatles Really enjoyed this one

There are two versions of Elastica here. There’s straightforward late 70s style punk and there’s post grunge. I don’t get why people call this art rock or compare them to the Stranglers. This is punk with pop sensibilities. Even calling it Britpop only makes sense retrospectively because you can hear what we’d now call a Blur-ish sound on it. But they have much more punk attitude than Blur or most of the Britpop bands. Most of the album is short, angry songs with blazing guitars and sledgehammer drums. The track Connection is the hooky song everyone knows. The slower songs like Hold Me Now have a more pop feel but the attitude is straight up punk. I was raised on punk so I like it to that extent. I’ve only given it three stars because what they’re doing here has basically been done; there’s nothing much original here really.

Meh

Sure, they clearly "ripped off" Wire and The Stranglers, but as a member of The Stranglers said, "so what? Of course there's plagiarism, but unless you live in a vacuum there's always going to be." I dig both. I hear some clear influence on Sleater-Kinney and the like. This kicks ass.

Better than I expected. Not something I’d listen to regularly but I liked the sound.

Correcto

There is definitely a Pixies vibe to this. Connection is the hit. I'm not hating this. This sounds very mid-90s, Pixies, Primus, Garbage...there's something very time specific about them. Indian Song...that's super racist. This is deteriorating fast. This feels more like the discount Pixies than contemporaries now. I bet the xx love these guys. Vaseline is needlessly silly.

Not really my cup of tea.

Wasn't bad, I listened to the whole thing. I did 'like' Car Song, and may have to come back.

90's pop rock that has a little edge, nothing special in any way but still a fun listen.

Connection was the hit and it’s a good tune but I prefer the rockers: Annie, Smile, Blue, All Nighter and the best song on the record, Stutter. Is there anything special here? Not really but some good quality indie rock with a bit of punk underpinning the better tunes.

Re-discovered this over lockdown. It's a really fun listen. Wish the band could have keep it together long enough to put out a good second album instead of what they put out.

I was unfamiliar with this, but I don't think I should have been. Seems like something I would've listened to before. And it's pretty good, I could see this becoming more of a favorite with more time.

I liked this quite a bit. In general, I'm a big fan of albums that have 15 tunes and clock in at 40 minutes or less. LOL Good energy and a reasonable range of different tunes all within one overarching idiom.

If heard in a vacuum, this is maybe three or four stars for the punk gone pop being worked through like an interrupted therapy session about your imposter syndrome. Knowing anything about the overall music scene at the time or being a fan of the bands Elastica lifted their best work from (ahem, Wire) is surely enough to pull a star and close the door...and yet Stutter, Connection, Line Up, 2:1, Waking Up are perfect knock-offs. If you like the originals, their charms can be hard to resist.

Good

It is fine but I will probably forget about them in 12 minutes and never listen to this again.

This album has always been very underrated in my opinion. I loved it growing up and still really like it to this day. However, imagine my surprise earlier in this list when I got Pink Flag… still love this album, but that was interesting to learn.

I kind of liked the single, but listening to it in the context of the album I was thinking the whole thing was maybe a 3, then I was reminded that this is in the context of album’s you should listen to before you die…

Pretty good stuff

3 or a 4 for me, and I am in a good mood so I’ll stretch it to a 4.

Yas girls!!! Actual vibey musical punk rock!

In one of those odd coincidences that this list throws up, today’s album is from Elastica who were fronted by Justine Frischmann who was half of a Britpop power couple with Damon Albarn and thus indirectly responsible for him writing two of the most self pitying and mawkish breakup songs of all time when they inevitably split up. Anyhoo, as the saying goes this album is both good and original. However, the parts that are good aren’t original and vice versa. Albarn makes a guest appearance on this on a couple of tracks and was caught out shamelessly ripping off a riff from Wire on the track Connection. The non-Albarn tracks are a bit better, but there are clear similarities to the New York punk sound of the Ramones and especially Blondie on the track Vaseline. As with Blur, I really wanted to like this, but in the end it swung and missed for me.

It feels like the illegitimate child of Sonic Youth and The Ramones playing britpop. And it's way better that what I was expecting. The britpop tropes are not too heavy, the guitar sound is dirty just has it needs to be, it's actually way better than 99% of britpop.

Lukewarm, very lukewarm, uninteresting, I would never listen to it again.

Boooooojm!

No Doubt did it better

High energy and lots of fun: punk style and pop hooks. They're like a New Wave act for the post-grunge era with just the right amount of blur/pulp style britpop whimsy. Textbook 90s alt rock guitar sound - crunchy overdrive, compressed tightly to keep the chaos in order, scooped mids.

3.5 maybe? Need to listen again!

dull dull dull

Started off decent but got kinda samey by the end. This sounds like music made for the tv show “Daria”. Obviously they had songs in the show but feels like it was written for it 3.5/5

I don't give a shit if it rips off Wire. I like these songs better than the Wire originals by a mile. This album is brilliant.

Tart, tough, biting and fun -- in some ways, this holds up better than overdone Britpop (definitely better than Blur) and is an authentic "best of the '90s" sort of sound.

Albumi #168, 07.03.2025 Elastican debyyttialbumi vuodelta 1995.

Connection is the stand out here, the song I know best from them. Solid BritPop from that era.

Solid, but nothing that stuck with me.

I think this is worth another listen - i liked what I heard

..

8/10. Big sleeper pick, the songs are simple, with memorable riffs, to-the-point and have good vocals. I think maybe I just find punk rock a bit less cringe when non Americans do it. That being said some of the riffs were a bit 'Green Day' (my nemesis) but the vocals definitely put a pleasant spin on it. Massive fan of 'Never Here' and a 'Connection' and probably a few others im forgetting. Overall really surprised me and definitely something I'll go back to.

Bad rock music.

Jeden z tych albumów, które raczej znikną szybko z mojej pamięci. To nie jest zły krążek, ale nie wyróżnił się niczym na tyle, żebym chciał do niego wracać. Momentami miałem wrażenie, że to taka trochę bootlegowa PJ Harvey z gorszym akompaniamentem, a to były najlepsze momenty.

Zespół brzmi jakby ironicznie się dobrze bawili i nieironicznie to kocham.

почему он такой знакомый? на фоне этого показался интереснее чем мог бы а ведь не мой жанр

One of my top ten records of the 90’s.

Probably wouldn’t listen again but still a low 3; a nice little pop punk Brit album where songs are under 2 minutes and very 90s nostalgia. Faves: connection, car song, stutter, see that animal

Must say that this was quite lacking of an identity for me. All songs just fell completely flat for me, didn't manage to find a single song that I enjoyed. Not even their supposed hit, 'Connection'. In addition, it sounded like something that could've been made during the early 80s, but turned out to come from '95. Not sure why it didn't click. Probably just wasn't my thing at all.

Like when i find a book I don't want to finish, this one took a long time to get through. It just feels so generic. Not sure why it bores me, the sound is ok, has attitude and the type of music i generally like. But there still is no hook in the album. Tried listening to it on multiple occasions and it just blended in to the background.

Really good.

New wave, grunge son un acierto en la brillante reunión de las cuerdas en la casi totalidad de los temas expuestos. Me gustaron

Very inoffensive rock, but I didn't notice any standout songs. While I don't feel like I need to come back to it, I'd happily listen to the full album again. Annie was probably my favorite out of the bunch, but Blue, See That Animal, and Stutter are also playlist-worthy. I don't like that they apparently ripped off other artists with a few songs, but at least none of those were my favorites. Maybe they would have sounded better if they stuck with original music.

When I was 16 I loved this. I’m. Not sure it’s aged well but it’s still pretty good

I could see myself throwing this album on when working in the yard or garage

Now my favorite mostly-girls band! How did I miss this album back in the day?? Very effective, confident punk rock. The vibe is strong with this one. Connection is an astonishing piece. 4.55

as far as I can tell, this band is sort of like a Britpop sidequest, founded by Justine Frischmann and Justin Welch a couple years after they left Suede, a band I've heard of, but I can't say if I ever heard any of their work. (out of Britpop's unofficial "big 4," the States latched onto Blur and Oasis; Pulp and Suede didn't capture nearly as much attention here.) imagine if Hole wrote songs with Wire-esque riffs and song structures, and you sort of have an idea of what Elastica's debut album sounds like (to me, at least). some of the best songs here, much like on Wire's Pink Flag, are only around 90-150 seconds long! as far as 90s indie rock goes, I have a much higher proclivity for the American bands than the British ones, but Elastica has a sound that brings the best from both sides of the pond to the forefront. it's a mixture of grungy, American alt and indie rock textures with the wit and songwriting tropes of British post-punk. I guess I'm saying they're the Strokes before the Strokes. decent 7/10.

Innovative and fresh.

Connection got the most airplay, but there are some other tracks on here that are great. I think that this album got buried underneath the mid-90s onslaught of pop-punk, alt, and second emo wave. That being said, some other female-led bands did it better - as you had Magnapop, Garbage, Belly, and the Breeders dropping solid albums in this time frame.

Gotta admit, I didn't really know this album much outside their hit "Connection," but thoroughly enjoyed it. Holds up super well 30 years later. 90s Britpop at it best

This is one of those must haves for those really early in the morning focus sessions. When the project is due EOD and it's 4:30AM and the coffee is just kicking in...Let the Sharpies & Xactos Fly!

"Connection" was omnipresent for a while, like it was put together by a marketing team for maximum impact in the bar 'n' grill background music sector for Q1 '95 , but maybe I never heard anything else by them. The rest of the album sounds like a much more fun band. The songs are barely formed in the best way, each consisting of a good hook, an expertly shoplifted Joy Division or Fall or Stranglers quotation, a cool noise and a sing-song swagger.

The is the first album from this exercise that I was already familiar with beforehand. Elastica's debut was a gateway album for me in more ways than one (ah, the days of reading online zines like Addicted to Noise and realizing for the first time there was a ton of music the radio and MuchMusic weren't going to expose me to), so inevitably whatever score I give it here will be influenced by nostalgia. That said, I think it holds up pretty well. I still love the energy and attitude, and I forgot that the vocals can be surprisingly melodic for the genre. It's maybe 5-10 minutes too long, but it doesn't really matter very much when there's more than enough songs that I still remember fondly decades later, like the moody extraterrestrial atmospherics of "Car Song," the blink-and-you'll-miss-it rollercoaster of "Annie," and the vaguely woozy swagger of "Hold Me Now."

First off, 16 songs in 40 minutes? You're speaking my language. Only four tracks come in at longer than three minutes? Beautiful. Even though half the band came from Suede they don't let that hinder them, this act manages to be worlds more interesting. I've heard this album a few times, years and years ago, but found a lot that I still enjoyed. Metric tons of bops. And while the songs sound similar, the don't sound the same. There's a minor chord here, a spotlighted riff there, paired vocals sometimes but not too much so it gets old. It's a shame the last track left me cold, which was notable because everything else rated so hot.

Here we have a 90s British band with a couple hit singles that failed to materialize much of a career after their first record. A perfect recipe for a completely missable 1001 Albums entry. Except here's the thing: this whole album is a bop! It's weird to call a record that quickly set sales records "underrated", but I don't see Elastica (the album or band) get talked about the same way Suede (the album or band) does today—which is a shame, because to my ears this is clearly the funner listen.

I think this is as good as classic Buzzcocks, even though it's borrowing heavily from other post-punk classics. "Waking up" is the Stranglers "No more Heroes", Connection is Wire's "three girl rhumba", etc. While relistening, I noticed "blue" is similar to siouxsie's "Mirage". there are likely other borrowings I can't place. BUT IT DOESNT MATTER because all the songs are catchy, not too long, and still sounds great 30 (?!) years later.

So...I never knew Elastica was British. That likely explains why they are on this list. :/ I see a lot of criticism that they ripped off Wire and Buzzcocks. I don't undertand how that's something to criticize. That seems like two excellent bands to rip off. I would have lumped them into grunge in the past but after giving this a new listen, they're definitely coming at it from a very different angle. And it's a good angle. I like it! I've always like the singles that came off of this one and after giving the entire album a thorough listen, I like it!

Interesting and well produced femme punk

Generally pretty good kinda upbeat punk rock

1994 UK. Alternative rock, Britpop, post-punk. BDB

Oh yeah, Elastica were cool huh? Were they though? They were definitely ladettes in a sea of lads, and had a bit of attitude, but musically, are they good? The answer: they're OK. This is serviceable punk-lite mid-90s London Britpop, and if that adjective-athon hasn't put you off entirely, probably give it a listen.

Great album, I really enjoyed this. Much more upbeat than a lot of other music this era, including other Brit Pop. Some of it is quite funky, with my favorite being Car Song and S.O.F.T.. I like this car song a lot more than the Queen one I listened to a couple days ago. Some Franz Ferdinand present here.

great stuff britpop meets alt rock

I've never heard of this band, and I didn't expect to like them, but was pleasantly surprised. Solid album with very '90s sound but also a bit of precursor to the 2000's pop punk sound.

Cool funky sound. The entire album was great to listen to and each song blended well into the next one. Gave me strong Blur vibes, especially on the opening track. Would listen to again.

Had one I kinda recognized

I had first heard this album a couple of years ago and quite liked it. I was mistaken in thinking it was a late 70’s / early 80’s album rather than a product of early Britpop. Very solid album from beginning to end.

i really wanted to like this a lot more than i did especially bc i think Justine is so cool and gorgeous....but honestly this was just fine. very britpop sound crossed with some punk influences but none of the songs really stood out to me that much except for a few. the overall sound is alright and it's good as background music but i don't really have strong feelings about it one way or the other. maybe i should listen again at some point cause i feel like britpop bands take a few tries for them to click for me but for a first listen it was just fine. sorry feminism!

Some would have you believe this is the great britpop album. They’re wrong Some would also have you believe this is derivative crap. They’re also wrong Are the songs shy about their influences? No, but if it’s not the most original collection of punk-rock it is performed very well and has a couple of bangers in Connection and Waking Up

It's the first album who made me openly think that "woaw, all of this was too short!"... but still, it had a lot of energy and catchy melodies.

Most of the songs in this exquisite record are slices of the human experience that the band serves up in quick yet satisfying bursts. https://open.substack.com/pub/richcain/p/project-1001-elastica-by-elastica?r=4ztyq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Cool band, a couple of cool songs, but not enough.

Stimme sind ächli flach. Es Album mit äme punkige Aafang und Ändi, dezwüsched ehner popig. Spontan tönts wienäs Erstlingswärk (wases ja au isch😂). Smile erinneret mi anes anders Lied, S.O.F.T. hät öppis, Blue isch cool. Wämmer bedänkt, dass 1995 Right said Fred, Rednex oder Scatman John Tophits gsi sind, isch das Album doch ganz ok. Aber wämmer a d Atomtests vo F im Mururoa-Atoll und s Massaker vo Srebrenica dänkt, isch d Musig eigentli zwenig hässig. Fun-Fact: Mr. Bombastic vom Shaggy isch 1995 au än Hit.

heeey e wiblichi band zum d esther begrüesse lesgo. ha easy spass, geili churzi ersti hwei songs. was isch de spielzüg snythi scheiss bi connection jetz ah ok mit de gitarre machts sinn. hold me now meega cool. blue macht au wieder mega spass sie hend mega cooli stimme, s mixing isch chli sehr brick wall d gitarre sind chli luut. find etz scho mit de ziit dases sich chli usmauft au wenn d songs meega tight bliibed. never here seeeeehr cools intro. au meega cooli chords. oke vaseline etz eehner explizit hä.

line up kenni vo iwo hani s gfühl? bin jz bi soft und finds na e cooli mischig usem "dreck" vo punk und melodie blue chli punkiger und geile gegesatz mite harmonie vode sängerin ahh en "blueprint" für britpop seg das gsi? ahh sie chömmed vo suede jz macht natürlich alles sinn, die Inzucht der Musikkritik BASS 2:1 findi glaub s highlight öh scho fertig? sehr churzwiilig gsi! aso wenni ehrlich bin hani rig scho gnueg brit pop glost uf dere liste aber hans super gfunde

Favorite Track: Connection

I was great! I got really into it. Fun, upbeat, tight. Made good running music

Good stuff. It wasn't all hits but generally pretty fun.

Enjoyed it.

Pos-punk/indie legalzinho. Vocal feminino. Inglaterra britpop...

Okay, I get it. It's just not that exciting for me, to be honest.

Meh. I give it two stars. Sounds very generic and formulated. I guess i didn’t make the connection

This is Hole with a better voice but more poppy. I can tell that Connection was the song they rode with to propel them into a part of the music stratosphere. It stands out high above the rest of the songs. That being said, you could do worse with your time giving this album a full listen. S.o.f.t and Hold me Now but can freely say that they share the limelight with a song like Connection. This is a much better album as it goes on. It finishes stronger in the latter half if you make it that far. Don’t expect any Mariah Carey, glass shattering vocals. This is pop punk with splashes of electronica. It fits it’s early 2000’s family of female edginess. Choice cut: Connection

Very solid flowing hard rock, great bass

Very good

This is the type of music that people pretend to know to sound cool.

Maybe not bad but I don’t care for it. Would not want to listen to this again. This is a true 2.5 and wasn’t sure whether to go up or down. In the end nothing pushed me to 3.

Grunge? Punk? Vibe!

Uno de los mayores éxtios del Brit Pop, uno de los discos de debut mejor vendidos de la historia, portadas, romances, etc, etc. Detrás de esto hay un buen disco, con alguna notable canción: Wake Up, una gloriosa Blue,la pícara Stuter, Connection, 2:1, Line up, Vaseline... y la sensación de que el grupo podía haber publicado algún que otro disco. Sin embargo, se quedó en eso: disco y adiós (hasta The Menace en el 2000, que fue el canto del cisne). No hay que quitarle méritos, en cierto modo fueron las Runaways o las Bangles de los 90, que no es poco. Justine tiene historias para aburrir (formó Suede, compartía piso con MIA...) y el hecho de tener influencias obvias (acuerdos extrajudiciales por medio) no les quita valor, si no lo ha restado a Oasis o tantos otros (Led Zepellin...). Never Here sigue sonando igual de bien (a Pixies y JAMC) décadas después. Disco disfrutable, pero no es una obra maestra. Es algo más simple: lo pones y tarareas, es mucho más que la mayoría de discos.

Some great mid 90s sound. Distortion rock done right!

Né carne, né pesce

Someone said it could be background music for a 90’s movie. I agree.

Meh at best. Not sure why this was on here

"Elastica" is the debut album by English alternative rock band Elastica. The Wiki-listed genres are Britpop and post-punk with some critics also calling it new wave. The album was produced by Mike Waterman. The bandmembers include Justine Frishmann (vocals, guitar), Donna Matthews (vocals, guitar), Annie Holland (bass) and Justin Welch (drums). The album was well-received critically and was nominated for the UK Mercury Prize. Commercially, it hit #1 in the UK. Straining guitar riffs open "Line Up." A deep bass and retching vocals throughout the song. It's the stuff (music industry) that makes Justine sick. "Connection" starts with feedback and guitar sounding electronic(if that makes sense). A bouncey bass and rhythm section. Yeah, that synth sounds a lot like Wire's "Three Girl Rhumba." Love is a gamble. Their fifth single "Car Song" has a synth, a siren-sounding guitar and more deep bass. I always like a siren-sounding guitar. Oh, it's about sex in a car, I think. Swirling layered guitars and a great guitar solo highlight "Waking Up." Layered vocals and a prominent bass. People compare this song to the Stranglers. I can see that. A song about apathy and laziness. The band unleashes their punk side in "Stutter." Authoritative lead vocals by Justine as she's pushing someone away in a failing relationship. Go'Go's-ish backing vocals. This is a great song. The album closes with "Vaseline." I see they're Blondie fans with that vocal chorus. I wonder what she needs Vaseline for???? This album is a lot more rockin' than modt if the Britpop that I've listened to. There's an edginess to the music especially the guitars that reminded me of the Pixies. And with 16 songs in 40 minutes, this album scoots along. Most songs are catchy. A nice mix to the sound; the bass really stands out. This is a really good album and one that has aged pretty well too.

While this album rocks to an ample degree, it feels a bit too polished for my liking. If I am to rock, let me feel like I'm living a little dangerously. I was familiar with that "Connection" song at track 3, which, to be fair, is a fantastic riff. There's some good nuts and bolts here but I'm not altogether memorable. There's some quality here but maybe it's landing better with other demographics.

Very fine punk rock - like it.

This would've been my ENTIRE personality if I would've been a teenager in the 90s.

Highlight: All-Nighter In a nutshell: false advertising. Anthony Leaver from BBC Music in 2011 declared that Elastica's debut was "a blueprint for what Britpop should sound like." Mate, this is more Veruca Salt than Blur. Great riffs and drums, although repetitive. Justine and Donna's vocals reminded me of Debbie Harry and Shirley Manson (Garbage), maybe Courtney Love(?). I can see the connections/rip off allegations between Elastica and Wire and Buzzcocks. I feel like a traitor to my gender by not enjoying the music of a mostly female identifying band on a list lacking in said bands. Sorry ladies :( It's not you, it's me. Overall: 4/10

Never really heard of this but Connection is a classic. A good listen!

Fun!

Pretty fun!! I have no thoughts

Ihan kelpoa alt rokkia, perus hyviä kappaleita. Parhaat: Annie, Waking Up,

It’s ok

Heard then on MTV thought they were not that bad, heard them again and I stand my ground, they are neither good or bad

Yeah I dig it

2.4 2x while cleaning garage

Punky

This album caught me off guard. I didn't think I'd heard them before but then Connection and Car Song played back to back and sent me on a hunt to see where I'd heard them only to find it was in an ad or 30 years ago. On that lookup I also found out this band was formed after a couple split from Suede, which was a band I really liked and found from this list, and the singer also dated Damon Albarn too, so she's all over the Britpop scene. Which explains why this album fits into that timeline so well. During the second listen of Connection I watched the video and I'm certain 10 year old me would have had a crush on Justine. If you think she looked boyish, then you get it too. Another fantastic album, further increasing my rating for the Britpop subgenre. Favorite track "Connection" 5/5

Schrott

"Make a cup of tea. Put a record on!" What a good idea, especially when the record is as good as this. Chock full of fun short Britpop songs. Favourites include the hits, Line up, Connection and Waking Up. Also 2:1 and All-nighter. Took me back to mid-90s student days which is never a bad thing.

I can see from quite a few reviews that there are quire a few accusations of plagiarism flying about some of the songs on this album. And admittedly I can see where this is coming from, 'waking up' is clearly derivative of the Stranglers as 'connection' is of Wire. But that said and done, as Brit Pop albums go, this stands put quite well. It's a debut album and the album contains some big hitters, connection, line up, stutter etc... It makes a change from the gloom of early 90s grunge and as a mostly female outfit they deserve credit for trying to break through the predominant 'ladist' culture of the time. And hey boomer! Before you get on your high horse droning on about girly copycats, have a quick look up Led Zep and them plagiarising Willie Dixon, Howlin Wolf and many others. Not knocking the Zep, just sayin' that's all! 4 stars from me

im not mad i listened to it, i probably wont listen to it again. i felt the songs were blurring together after a while. but maybe i was distracted while listening.

Blondie en Wire smashed together, zo zou ik het willen definiëren. Met de attitude van een typische Britpop band. Ik ben het laatste jaar meer in female-led punk/post-punk gedoken, met veel mooie ontdekkingen ten gevolge. The Raincoats, The Slits, en natuurlijk X-Ray Spex. Maar dat greep op alle vlakken meer aan. De momenten dat ik hier enthousiast raakte waren inderdaad melodieën en riffs die rechtstreeks van befaamde art punk albums 'gejat' leken. Best vermakelijk allemaal, maar niet eentje waarop ik terug ga vallen. 5,5/10 Highlights: Connection Stutter

Blijkbaar komen niet alle riffs van Elastica uit eigen pen. Gejat en gekopieerd van Wire en the Stranglers zijn ze halverwege de nineties misschien niet de meest unieke band. Maar het past binnen deze tijd wel heel erg om dit tof te vinden. Schijnbaar was dit het populairste Britse debuut na Oasis en voor the Arctic Monkeys. Het hoeft niet origineel om goed te zijn... En ik moet zeggen. Veel van dit soort bands escaleren vaak de bocht uit. Dat is waarom ik niet heel graag een plaat van Sonic Youth aan zet en the Pixies in gezelschappen ook vaak een tandje zachter moeten (looking at you Juul). Elastica heeft dat niet. Het is vuig en rammelend en vliegt niet de bocht uit. Ik ben wel enthousiast! 8/10 Waking Up Connection

Tiresome and obnoxious in a way that could only have been successful in 90s Britain.

A Very good new wave revival album.

solid 4 day, maybe a 5. Reminds me of an angrier version of the lilith music I usually listen to.

Not bad but not especially remarkable. A soft and pleasant listen.

Connection is a great song.

It sounds a lot like Wire which isn't a bad thing. Pretty good even though it isn't original.

The magnum opus of britpop

Couple of bangers. Otherwise kinda meh standard 90s

Decent. Some interesting ideas, but the songs just are t that catchy.

Too instrument forward, sounds like every other yelling rock band. Nothing memorable. 2/5

Really good

It wears its influences on its sleeve but it is still enjoyable. I liked it more than other albums from the era, garbage for example

What impressively bad production. Overall with that aside, this drips with the 90s - not distasteful, but iconically generic of the era, down to a rip off best known as a theme for a forgotten prank show. Can’t get much more shitty British childhood than that.

hell yeah best song: waking up worst song: connection

Very good. Enjoyed this a lot

Lyrics: 1/5 Music: 2/5 Production: 3/5 Cohesiveness: 2/5 Overall: 2/5 Stand out songs: Connection

2.5

Just not a fan of moany female led grunge bands

Never heard of them but this was a pretty good listen

baddddddd

De dames en heer raggen vrolijk in het rond, hakketakdrums en denderende gitaren, het luistert leuk weg, maar niks valt op. Een tussendoortje.

Een soort post-punk als je luistert naar de muzikale opzet en het stemgeluid. Maar tegelijk is dit geen muziek dat uitstraalt dat het in een schuurtje is opgenomen. Het stemgebruik bij bijvoorbeeld Connection lijkt mij meer een knipoog naar die punk. Een soort zelfspot? Ik moet even wennen, maar het is uiteindelijk ook wel erg pakkend, wat pop-achtig. Je knikt snel mee met je hoofd bij bij zo'n nummer als Car Song. Het lukt me ook wel om aan die stem te wennen. Wie weet, zet ik dit zomaar nog eens aan.

Ik had nog nooit van Elastica gehoord (wel van Suede uiteraard, die we al eerder hebben mogen beluisteren), maar ik hoor hier wel allerlei bekende stromingen uit de 90s in terug. Punk(rock), britpop, grunge, noem het maar op. En dan met een frontvrouw ga je al snel de vergelijking trekken met bands als Garbage en Hole. Of later Melissa auf der Maur, aanrader trouwens als je van dit soort muziek en/of Smashing Pumpkins houdt. Niet onverdienstelijk moet ik zeggen. Het klinkt een beetje vuig af en toe, lekkere rauwe en gruizige grunge. De gitaren staan sowieso volle bak op distortion. De zang doen ze geen gekke dingen mee, zoals de zanger van Suede wel eens uit de band wilde springen. De zang is hier niet bedoeld om irritant op te vallen, zoals zo vaak het geval is bij zeurderige britse stemmen. En dat is een pluspunt. Ik hoor het allemaal voor de eerste keer en het klinkt als een plaatje dat al 20 jaar in mijn playlistjes voorbij zou kunnen komen. Gek genoeg (her)ken ik dus geen enkel nummer, ook niet van een cover, en is dit dus in vergetelheid geraakt. Ook bij huisradio K!NK komt er niks van voorbij. Alhoewel, heel misschien "Stutter", klaarblijkelijk hun 'grootste' hit. Ik lees overigens dat er controverse ontstaan zou zijn, omdat sommige nummers lijken op nummers van the Wire en the Stranglers. Ik moet zeggen, nu ik het weet, herken ik het er wel in. Maar goed, beter goed gejat dan slecht bedacht. Ik denk er over om het lekker een 4 te geven.

This isn't a particularly exciting album. I mean, it's a nice enough album that revisits punk and post-punk stylings, but it shows its influences so strongly that I'm not surprised they got hit for plagiarism.

I’ve said before that one of Britpop’s strengths was that there was a good approximation of most styles of Rock from the preceding 30 years. Elastica is the genre’s attempt at Punk and if I’m being honest, I’ve never got the hype. There were a fair few of my cool friends at Sixth Form who swore that this was one of the best albums of the Britpop era, and I never got into it in the way I’d have liked to. Connection’s a good song, and I don’t think the rest of the album’s bad necessarily, but when compared to the heights of the rest of the Britpop scene, Elastica just seems a bit… I don’t even know. I think possibly a bit outdated. The great thing about the best of Britpop was that the classic styles were there, but with a modern twist, which is why Connection works so well. It has that modern update of ‘77 style Punk, but the rest of the album sticks pretty close to the formula. And as such, I don’t think it’s aged as well as a lot of the rest of the scene. It’s still fine, but just that

Fun and catchy. I remember a few of these songs from back in the day

I don’t know if I have a lot to say about this record. It felt promising at the start but it’s just.. unremarkable. Some good femme-grungey vibes throughout, but nothing strikes me as particularly catchy or memorable. I don’t dislike it, but I don’t love it either. I’m a little perplexed at the existence of “Indian Song”. That’s a weird thing to write and record. 2 stars.

This is a deeply mid and entirely forgettable album. It feels like music made for a movie to convey that some side characters are Very Cool Alt Girls In A Band rather than a genuine expression of anything in particular. It’s not bad but it’s not really anything. 4/10

Could barely stand!

I saw Britpop and was filled with dread but this was actually pretty great! Had enough of an edge to get me invested.

Interesting album...doesn't really fit into the Britpop cannon..definitely more on the "alternative" side of things. Decent though. 3.5/5

solid album - would give it 3.5

Didn't expect to see this album on the list. I loved it as a teen, but not one I thought would be showcased as a must listen before you die, nor do I think it deserves to be, even as much as I love it. I really enjoyed listening through the album again regardless, and it will always be an all time favorite from the 90s.

Awesome album. Music is ultimately entertainment and this one was fun from start to finish. Favorite Songs: Stutter, S.O.F.T., Connections

With the exception of "Connection" I had really not heard any of their work before. This was a decent album. Very much cookie cutter songs that sound the same...but they had a decent groove.

Ignoring the fairly blatant plagiarism, 'Elastica' is a great album. It really shows where new wave and post punk transformed into Brit Pop, but it does a far better job than most others. Blur is great but if I'm being honest, they don't have any albums that can match this one (although they have some amazing singles). There's so much variety and energy here. There's also loads of unmet potential if I'm being honest. With the right producer, this could have been an absolute classic and there are hints of greatness. It's all mixes well together but doesn't quite melt into one whole the way I'd like it to. Still, there's a lot to love here.

Connection // Car Song // 2:1 // Vaseline // 2.5/5

Solid album with alot of punchy brit-rock female led songs. Drags at times but there's enough here to warrant a 4-star. Connection (radio hit) and 2:1 are the standouts IMO.

Elastica is a brit-pop band, and their self-titled debut was a critical and commercial success. Their guitar driven, alt-rock adds a rare element - a female lead singer in an alt-rock band - with Justine Frischmann's vocals. Her melodic voice has a hint of the snarl of punk, adding to the band's edgy sound. This album includes "Stutter" and "Connections," two of the band's biggest hits. These songs, like the rest of the tracks on the album, are engaging and upbeat, and are of an interesting version of 90's pop.

Doesn’t that sound just like…

Elastica

This is a lot better than I was expecting. Really enjoyed this.

Going to take a detour to start this review off, but have you ever heard ”Never Say Never” by the band That Dog.? You probably haven’t and that’s ok, but you should…it’s kind of a perfect song. Sure, it’s got a distinctly 90’s sound: fuzzed out power pop replete with Cars-esque synths, but…it’s perfect and the instrumental bridge with Petra Haden’s layered violin solo is outright beautiful. You’re welcome. Anyway, Elastica. I remember when “Connection” was a hit back in the 90’s, but don’t really remember feeling strongly about it in either direction. It was good to me, not great, but I may not have been the target audience or especially receptive to what it was at that time. I guess that’s the thing about “one hit wonders”, if that hit doesn’t really land with you and you don’t go out of your way to hear anything else by the band, they tend to disappear just as quickly as they came along. Unfortunate, but that’s the reality of our situation. This record is more aggressive and experimental than i expected. It’s a pretty solid 90’s alt rock record from start to finish, even if they do some “borrowing”.

If you base your expectations on the hit single “Connection,” you’ll be surprised to discover that the rest of the album isn’t as poppy. It definitely has a pop edge, but it’s also punchy with strong grunge and punk rock influences, which took me by surprise on my first listen. This album is always fun to revisit, especially when you’re in the mood for something catchy and melodic that still retains a raw, edgy vibe.

me gusto

First impression: half of the album is kind of interesting.

#76 I like it, but it does not stand out.

Fantastic record

Drivel Head wears her glad rags, She's got her keys, money and fags, I know that her mind is made up, To get rocked. Drivel Head needs a new man, As only a drivel head can, He's a hormonal nightmare, So beware. Another victim of line up in line, Line up in line is all I remember. Oh, how their favours change, You could have been kinder. Yes, yes, line up in line, Line up in line is all I remember. Oh, how their favours change, You could have been kinder. Yeah, this is a pretty damn good album. This list has made me resistant to most UK music, because theres been enough mediocre post punk or pop crap on this list to fill a "now thats what I call" CD, but this is an actual good album. 5/5

I had heard the song Connection before & liked it, but never knew the title or artist name. Looking at reviews, a lot of people say they are wla "Wire" ripoff band. Never heard of Wire either?? But in this app/list of albums....most of the Brit bands are my least favorite. Enjoyed this one though...but got repetitive towards the end. 3.2

Punky grungy pop. It’s a very commercial sound. Good enough to not be annoying yet doesn’t stand out or warrant recognition.

Неплохой рок. Песня Connection понравилась

8/10…90er indie / britischer rock

95 baby 4

I really like this album and it's exactly why I am doing this project. I have no ties to Elastica, but there are 2 songs off of this that I have heard A LOT and know them quite well and love them (Connection and Car Song). But I would never have been able to tell you who performed those songs. A huge blind spot corrected, thanks 1001. I wonder if this would have been a 5 if I had this album for 30 years ... right now it's a:

There's some cool stuff on here but overall a bit too "punk rock" for me. The album felt short and long at the same time. Like each song was short but the album still went on too long.

Wow, did this list get this one wrong. More overrated 90s Brit Rock. An album that is not only not an all time classic, It wasn’t even truly relevant in 1994-1995 when the most relevant post punk/grunge female fronted bands that do belong on this list were Garbage in 1995, and The Cranberries in 1994. The album is a long 40 minutes, if you know, what I mean. Truly a bit of a slog. The only truly banging song on here is the hit, "Connection", and everything else sounds a bit too samey, with the exception of "Indian Song" which sounds like they were influenced by Kula Shaker, whose breakout album also came out in 1995. While their wikipedia article makes it sound like they were a success in the U.S., I can assure that as someone who lived through that era, they were insignificant to the American music scene. Not as insignificant as Justine Frischmann's previous project Suede, but they were certainly not turning heads in the Portland or Seattle scenes.

No. 284/1001 Line Up 3/5 Annie 4/5 Connection 3/5 Car Song 3/5 Smile 3/5 Hold Me Now 3/5 S.O.F.T. 3/5 Indian Song 3/5 Blue 3/5 All-Nighter 4/5 Waking Up 4/5 2:1 3/5 See That Animal 2/5 Stutter 4/5 Never Here 4/5 Vaseline 3/5 Average: 3,25 Fun Pop-Punk record

Safe, predictable punk album calls for safe, predictable review. This is definitely one of the albums of all time! It had music in it; guitars, basses, even drums, if you can believe that! And how could I forget the vocals? They were there too!

While this isn't going to win any originality contests, Elastica manages a solid, tight post-punk homage that's more enjoyable than it probably should be.

Pretty good straight rock album. Some really good sounds, and some nice, unappologic rock. Yeah it's probably a little derivative, but it's tough to not be anymore with the entire rock genre.

I remember this well as a very cool album. Justine was dating Damon. The cover rips off the ramones. Short poppy tracks played by skinny people in black. I was interested to hear how it held up. 25 years on and its not bad but it seems a bit thin (see what i did there). Some good singles and a nice overall sound, but a lot of filler. An ode to vaseline is an aesthetics choice, rather than anything meaningful. Thanks for the memories

Never heard of this group before but I was pleasantly surprised. Great 90s rock that felt more contemporary than the other 90s rock I've listened to

Pretty good alternative album. Interested in hearing more of their stuff.

I really liked this. Had the quintessential 90s grunge feel to it.

Annoying and pretentious.

Anderledes end jeg regnede med men stadig lidt kedeligt

Ret fed plade, mere punket end jeg plejer at forvente af britpop!

I like the genre, no songs really stuck out, but they were all pretty solid

Large phone album

Its not bad but its kinda just alright

I mean it's catchy but I'm starting to wonder about the head space of the Creator of this list. I was hoping for some heavier music of a less modern age.

É um bom album, mas acho que eles tava meio receosos de fazer rock mesmo. Ficaram muito no "quase". Só não senti isso em Line Up e Waking Up, que foram mais UP. Never Here também é boa.

*insira imagem da caveirinha rockeira falando "quem ai é do rock?"* destaques: S.O.F.T, Connection e Stutter

Super good. This band should have been much bigger than they were.

Честно сказать... Хотя жанрово это вот моя музыка, я ожидал альбом столетия, а получил что-то такое среднее, порой однообразное и филлеровое. Забавно вот что: я никогда не слышал об этой группе, но когда заиграл Connection, я такой "о вау, эту песню я знаю". Оказывается, знаю я ее из альбома Pink Flag группы Wire... И это всё равно лучшая песня. И это достаточно говорит об альбоме. Лучшая песня - Connection.

Good energy but nothing special

A surprising Brit pop sensation with a solid mix of punk to shake up the formula.

It's telling that Britpop's most muscular, aggressive, and downright grunty album was recorded be a predominantly female band. Is there something the other bands weren't telling us?

pretty neat

Gear: Focal Clear (ZMFed) Artwork: 📸🔳😐😐😐😐 Production: 😐🙂👌 Music: 😐🥱😴 Rating: 😐😐/5

Real 90s. And not in a good way. I did recognize one song though.

A lot of borrowing, but it's a sharp, scuzzy sounding album, nothing outstaying its welcome, and some really solid songs.

One of the most memorable facial expressions I've seen that didn't involve sex or injury was displayed by a nice young Québécois when I played him Wire's "Three Girl Rhumba" after he told me Elastica were his favourite band. "But this changes everything!" Am I allowed to say I prefer "Connection"? Directly quoting Wire bangers in the opening two songs is too on-the-nose, but I note in both instances the lifted parts aren’t made the main hooks. The argument for homage is stronger than that for straightforward plagiarism. This is a better record than I remembered. There are songs with swerve and guitar work that often puts one off-balance - spiky stuff, to use a journo word. There are more good songs here than I gave credit for - “Waking Up” and “2:1” are a comely pair - but then again there is also “Indian Song”, which raises the grisly spectre of a post-punk Kula Shakur. Will Simon retell his magnificent Elastica answering machine story? I am looking forward to him explaining exactly why I am a grotesquely ugly freak in lofting this up to a THREE.

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

decidedly mid

Eh. Not great not bad.

They brought an original sound with them at the height of Britpop and deserved their success. Britpop is very tied to the 90s and not sure it sounds quite as fresh now, but still deserves a listen. 4/5

A little experimentation on their songs. Note bad at all.

Yes, please.

I like it!

The first pop-punk/rock album I’ve been matched to. It’s a genre I usually like, but I found this a little tame. I can see where the genre has gone since this album came out, but I would have like a bit more thrashing guitar and anger.

Not much here for me. Pretty standard 90s stuff.

Fast short songs at the center of Britpop.

I did. Not hit her I did. naht

Yes to everything here. The October songs are HITTING so far

For as much as I enjoyed this album on the surface level, I couldn't help but wish that it was a bit more varied by the end of it. This album is tagged as Britpop, but this cover made me think there was more to the story. I was right. Songs like 'Blue' and especially 'Connection' sound like the kind of alternative rock songs that would (and did) easily blow up during the genre's peak while I'd say a song like 'All-Nighter' leans more towards typical Britpop in its lead melody and background vocals. Instrumentally though, you're still getting unfiltered punk throughout this thing. Some parts reminded me a lot of PJ Harvey's earlier works and also Blur who I know were close affiliates with the band (with Damon having dated Justine). My favorite song might be 'Waking Up' which is driven by the densest wall of guitars on the album. Lyrically it paints this image of someone living an unfulfilled life and refusing to continue if things don't change. Again I do wish it was all a bit more varied but there were too many great songs, riffs, and lyrics here for that to be a real negative. Justine is such a great front-lady and she certainly gives this album a unique charm that wouldn't have been present otherwise.

It's fine and actually something I might enjoy but it was so forgettable. Nothing caught my attention, nothing stuck in my head, nothing seemed more influential over others in the genre. Idk.. it was fine.

I liked this one more than I expected. There are some catchy, grungy guitar parts that I enjoy. Overall it’s not amazing or anything but I don’t hate it either.

This didn’t age well - and I didn’t think it was all that great to begin with. The production is all mids and treble to me. I didn’t find a hook - even car song and connection didn’t land this time around. I’ll have to go see if Veruca Salt has aged any better!

I didn't like the "Connection" song when it came out and is still probably one of the weaker saccharine sweet pop songs on the album, but there were some other pretty good songs on this album! I was pleasantly surprised!

Trypical 1990's grunge, which I like but this is just not the best. Not bad either, just a bit 'meh'.

First time listening, is the same as last time listening. I’d have to really stretch to lie this album.

Repetitive meh... nothing special

Middle of the road album for me. Didn't think it was bad, considering all the brit-rock/pop we've had recently. but past the song Connection (which I thought I recognized from somewhere) nothing else really stuck out. Would have this in rotation again, but its not going to jump out at me.

This song is very much a 3 from how I have been rating albums. Solid with some edginess but largely average based on the list.

Knew a couple songs and it was cool to put some hits with the band that they’re attributed to. The opening of Indian Song instantly reminded me of the sand level in Mario 64. I only wish the sound mixing raised the audio levels so I could hear the vocals a little better. Solid listen.

I could see myself really liking these guys if I discovered them earlier. This album feels like it could really connect with me if I had to listen to it on repeat from a CD. As of now, my music library is too big to really fit Elastica in anywhere.

Sounded exactly as I expected. Enjoyed but not sure I'd go back

Britpop with a bit more bite to it. Elastica is perhaps best known for their song Connection which borrows the leading riff from Wire's Three Girl Rhumba. Say what you will about stealing, but it still made for a catchy song. Otherwise, this album never left much of an impression on me. I think if the band leaned more into a punk/hardcore sound similar to Drive Like Jehu then they would really take off.

LOVELY. 4/5

Think I need to listen again and pay this more attention. Some good songs, overall didn’t do a lot for me.

Not bad

If you base your expectations on the hit single “Connection,” you’ll be surprised to discover that the rest of the album isn’t as poppy. It definitely has a pop edge, but it’s also punchy with strong grunge and punk rock influences, which took me by surprise on my first listen. This album is always fun to revisit, especially when you’re in the mood for something catchy and melodic that still retains a raw, edgy vibe.

3.5/5

Some cool moments with interesting dissonant guitars. But also a lot of quite poppy alt-rock kinda stuff.

Elastica is the debut studio album by Elastica, originally released in 1995. This one was OK, but nothing on here really stood out to me. It seems as though this album is having an identity crisis. On one hand, it wants to be 70s british punk, but it also wants to be grunge, new wave, and alternative rock. It doesn't nail enough of those genres to be considered "eclectic". It just comes off feeling half baked.

That’s a strong debut, B side is stacked. All-Nighter and Waking Up make a great back-to-back twofer. I do remember Connection when it came out. Elastica, very Blondie-esque, comes in at (3.7*s)

This album was pretty good, there's some fun tracks but I wasn't fully sold on the lead singer's voice. It's a bit like Blondie when she rapped and I never really love that one part. I do like the punk vibes but was kinda bored with it by the second half. 2.45.

Did not know this band but certainly recognized "Connection". A great song that I always thought was The Pretenders or 10,000 Maniacs. A one hit wonder band? Not if you ever listened to this whole album. I thought the rest was good too. Lead sounded like Chrissie Hynde with a little more punk vibe. I like that the band went in multiple directions which kept it fresh. Good guitar work and song timing. They got a little abstract on "2:1" but it worked. All in all a hidden gem that I never would have found without the list...3.4.

My only prior tangential knowledge of Elastica was their proximity with Damon Albarn. It continues to be clear he has great taste as I enjoyed this Elastica album. Another example of some quick britpop tracks that hit the spot. Nothing too flashy but it works. 3.30 stars

Well, this was a surprise! I didn't think I was going to like this but I loved it. I don't usually like just straight rock music but this was awesome. Keeping this one on my phone.

It's sounds dated now and ok

2.875

This is a perfect example of why I find this list so confusing. Elastica is a decent band, and this is a good album that is definitely representative of a prominent music trend and time period (Britpop). But it’s also a band that doesn’t have an original bone in its body. Just because an album was popular doesn’t mean it contributed anything new to music. Line Up and Connection, Elastica’s two most famous songs, famously rip off Wire, and the whole album is an attempt at recreating a more radio friendly version of Pink Flag. S.O.F.T. is a blatant ripoff of Weezer’s Undone (The Sweater Song). Waking Up sounds like it’s trying to combine multiple Nirvana songs. 2:1 sounds like it’s trying to be Automatic by the Go-Go’s. Stutter is a retread of Kim Wilde’s Kids in America. Other than being notable for having a lineup of mostly women, there’s not a whole lot that’s influential about this band or this album. Did I enjoy listening to it? Yes. Should it be on this list? I’d argue no. Also, if someone hasn’t made a Deepfake of Moira Rose from Schitt’s Creek lip syncing to Connection yet, someone needs to do that. 3.5/5 — I’d probably give it a 4 for enjoyability, but I have to deduct points for its derivativeness.

Haven’t heard it in a while, and I like it! Not typically a fan of female punkers. Call me sexist, but they typically screech too much. These ladies sounds sultry, melodic, and pissed. And the rock it with authority. More listens required!

Surprisingly average album, even though it has some Damon Albarn influence. Not much to comment on, to be honest.

pretty good, like the sound. could see myself coming back to this

Can't imagine why this is on the list. Inoffensive and boring? Nothing stood out as either good or bad, just a resounding meh for me

Kinda mid album 3/5

Booooooring

3.4

Take out “Indian Song” and this album pretty much rocks front to back. My algorithm has failed me by never suggesting Elastica before. I was vaguely aware of them but I had them pegged as an 80s pop band but they’re a lot closer to Everclear than the Bangles

2.5 I started off kinda liking the vibe but as I started to listen to the entire album, it started to feel like it was ripping off a different band each song. Ok heres our breeders song, here is the Television song, heres a Go-Gos song. Dont get me started on Wire. I understand that everyone has influences but nothing stood out as original

Like a Brit rock pop? It’s good but short of great.

I groaned when I saw the words British alt rock, but this felt more like punk to me and I thought it was pretty good. Light 4.