Aural Sculptors - The Stranglers Live 1976 to the Present


Welcome to Aural Sculptors, a blog aimed at bringing the music of The Stranglers to as wide an audience as possible. Whilst all of the various members of the band that have passed through the ranks since 1974 are accomplished studio musicians, it is on stage where the band have for me had their biggest impact.

As a collector of their live recordings for many years I want to share some of the better quality material with other fans. By selecting the higher quality recordings I hope to present The Stranglers in the best possible light for the benefit of those less familiar with their material than the hardcore fan.

Needless to say, this site will steer well clear of any officially released material. As well as live gigs, I will post demos, radio interviews and anything else that I feel may be of interest.

In addition, occasionally I will post material by other bands, related or otherwise, that mean a lot to me.

Your comments and/or contributions are most welcome. Please email me at adrianandrews@myyahoo.com.


Sunday, 19 January 2025

Elastica 'Sound City '95' Anson Rooms Bristol 18th April 1995

 


For me, Elastica were the pick of the Britpop crop... and until last year one of the last new bands that I really got into (the reputation that I have of being stuck in a musical rut that started in 1977 and ended in about 1985 does have an element of truth about it!). This recording of the band from BBC Radio 1's 'Sound City '95' festival catches the band in Bristol less than a month after the release of their first album. I think that the Anson Rooms is/was the Student Union venue of Bristol University, but here I could be wrong.

This gig has appeared on a couple of bootleg CDs but this version is as I recorded it off the radio. 

Elastica then, utterly derivative and so much the better for that. Listen to the first album to hear one that sounds like Blondie, one that sounds like Wire, one that sounds like Adam and the Ants and one that is a little similar to the Stranglers it was said.

Their candle burned brighty but for a short period of time. They lost momentum as a result of a five year gap before the follow up album was released, in which time things had moved on... and the second album was nowhere near as strong as the first.

Elastica have not reformed. There was some talk a few years ago of a reformation, albeit without Justine Frischmann, but it came to nothing... which is probably for the best. Better that they be remembered for the their brief flash of brilliance that illuminated an otherwise dark and dreary music scene.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-vrnnH0RVYb

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-utmfiwSbpd



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