Amazon.co.uk Review
Elastica were accused of many things in the wake of this debut album, not least that many of their songs bear a striking resemblance to stuff from New Wave punks
Wire ("Connection" is said to have the same riff as their "Three Girl Rhumba"). But that's all missing the point. Here we have 15 spiky songs crammed into less than 40 minutes, a hit-and-run of an album in which Justine's detached, bored rich-girl vocals complement the addictively energetic "Stutter" and "Waking Up". There's a satisfying smattering of filth throughout, too, as "Car Song" has Justine cooing, "Every shiny bonnet / makes me think of my back on it," and it doesn't take a genius to work out what she's on about on "Vaseline". This stunning debut is bloody good fun. It's frantic, sexy and makes you want to leap about like an idiot, and, really, nothing else matters.
--Emma Johnston
Description
The pop viciousness exuding from Elastica's pores far surpasses any qualities thus far exhibited in Britain's "new glam" movement. One time Suede member (pre-"London" era) JustineFrischmann and Donna Matthews weave together assorted guitar and vocal textures, recalling various levels of pop geniusin a disdainful, Kinks-esque tone.
Frischmann's dry lyrics are deliciously biting. Her sarcastic take on stardom ("if I can't be a star I won't get out of bed"), groupies ("Drivel head knows all the stars/Loves to suck their shining guitars"), and impotence ("no need to whine boy") are all icilycasual. Musically, Elastica is a pop lover's dream. Combining a Buzzcocks-tight rhythm section with enviable guitar delirium, Elastica's grip on pop sensibility is dead-centre.
What sets the band apart from their peers is their unstoppable wit. Already stars in their native England, Elastica have gotten it all but have also maintained a fabulously jaded perspective in regards to their desires--as Frischmann herself points out in "Waking Up", all she needs is "a guitar anda lover who pays me". What could possibly be more gratifying. All hail Elastica.