Earlier this week I posted the following on Facebook.
"I noticed recently that I was seeing quite a few Elastica posts turning up on my Facebook feed. Couldn't be a reformation I thought, although a return after 30 years would be in keeping with the sense of urgency in the band. No, the increased traffic would appear to be linked to the upcoming deluxe reissue of the first album, 31 years on. This must have been one of the last vinyl albums that I bought back in March 1995 (before resuming two or three years ago) with the catalogue insert (after the 'Kings of the Wild Frontier' album). Such a great album, even if a tad derivative of other bands' material in parts!
I was also reminded of the fact that at around the time of the release of 'Connection', Gunta decided that she wanted more than anything to be in Elastica! She is still waiting for the call..."
As a reminder of just how good they were back when the music press deemed Elastica to be the coolest band that Cool Britannia had to offer, here is a great 'first album recording' from Austin, Texas. Undisputedly, many of their songs did not attempt to hide the inspiration behind their composition.... 'Waking Up' (The Stranglers), 'Line Up' (Wire), 'Vaseline' (Blondie), 'S.O.F.T.' (Adam & The Ants)..., they had so much good material. As I remember, in the legal dispute with The Stranglers over similarities between 'Waking Up' and 'No More Heroes' it was the publishers who went after the money whilst the band remained in the background, even publicly stating something along the lines that 'mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery'.
For me, whilst Brit Pop offered something great in comparison with the utterly disposable music that was filling the charts at the time, it was in itself rather contrived. The media set up rivalry between Mancunian swaggerers, Oasis, and mockney scamps, Blur, was a blatant attempt to recreate the Beatles Stones face offs from the 1960's, the previous occasion when a British 'music scene' had garnered the interest of America, being the best known example of biz interference.
Aside from record company self-interest, Brit Pop did for a very short period appear to be a mirror held up to reflect a positive version of Britain. Of all the bands lumped into the scene, for me it was Elastica and that first eponymous album that represented Brit Pop's finest moment, this ultimate 'girl band' (in the same way that The Slits even with Budgie can't escape the label!) had the most verve and attitude of them all (more so than Oasis!).
Thanks to the original Dime uploader, markp.
My band played SXSW that year and Elastica was playing directly after us in a venue across town.
ReplyDeleteI tried hard to get to the show but alas, I didn't make it...
Thanks!