Elastica (album) explained

Elastica
Type:studio
Artist:Elastica
Cover:Elastica-Elastica.jpg
Released:March 1995
Recorded:1994
Studio:Konk (London)
Next Title:6 Track EP
Next Year:1999

Elastica is the debut studio album by English alternative rock band Elastica. It was released in March 1995 through Deceptive Records in the UK and DCG/Geffen Records internationally.[1] The album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.[2] This is the only album to feature the original line-up, and guitarist Donna Matthews.

Reception

Elastica was well-received critically. The Los Angeles Times opined that "the smart, sassy savagings of losers and poseurs are a refreshing advance from grunge's gloomy self-absorption."[3] The Independent concluded that "it is, yes, new new wave, and sometimes too close to old new wave: 'Vaseline' is Blondie and 'Waking Up' the Stranglers."[4] Select ranked the album at number 9 in its list of the "50 albums of the year".[5] In the U.S., the album was ranked as the sixth best album of the year by Mike Boehm in the Los Angeles Times,[6] and the album was also highly rated by Rolling Stone, Spin[7] and The Village Voice.

In their retrospective review, AllMusic praised the album, writing "what makes Elastica such an intoxicating record is not only the way the 16 songs speed by in 40 minutes, but that they're nearly all classics" and that "hardly any new wave band made records this consistently rocking and melodic". BBC Music wrote "As albums that fall off a genre's radar go, Elastica's eponymous debut ranks high", calling it "a neglected gem" and the "blueprint for what Britpop should sound like".

Commercial performance

Elastica hit number one on the UK Albums Chart,[8] becoming, at the time, the fastest-selling debut since Oasis' Definitely Maybe the previous year.[9] [10] The record also did well in the US, climbing to a peak of number 66 on the Billboard 200 after 11 weeks on the chart.[11] Two months after its release, it had sold over 59,000 units in the US according to Nielsen Soundscan.[12] By the end of 1995 it had sold approximately 1 million copies worldwide according to Billboard.[13] Around half of these sales were in America where it was certified as gold in December 1995. By April 2000, sales in the UK were estimated by the band's Deceptive label at 270,000 copies.[14]

Legacy

In 2013, NME called it the 191st greatest album of all time.[15] The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[16] In 2014, American LGBT magazine Metro Weekly ranked the album at number 38 in its list of the "50 Best Alternative Albums of the 90s".[17] In 2017, Pitchfork listed the album at number six in its list "The 50 Best Britpop Albums".[18]

Personnel

Elastica

Additional personnel

Production

Charts

Year-end charts

External links

Notes and References

  1. Elastica's DGC Set Connects with Fans . Billboard . 1995-05-20.
  2. Web site: Elastica Elastica Review . . 13 February 2012 . Leaver . Anthony . 13 February 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110213085508/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/bxhj . live .
  3. News: Hochman . Steve . Elastica, 'Elastica' . Los Angeles Times . 12 March 1995 . Calendar . 62.
  4. News: Barber . Nicholas . Records . The Independent. London . 10 March 1995 . Review . 17.
  5. Web site: 50 Albums of the Year. Select. 28 December 2016. 78–79. January 1996. 27 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180327212014/http://selectmagazinescans.monkeon.co.uk/showpage.php?file=wp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F03%2F50albums.jpg. live.
  6. Web site: Boehm . Mark . 1995: THE YEAR IN REVIEW : MIKE BOEHM'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 1995 . Los Angeles Times . 12 June 2024 . 29 December 1995.
  7. Aaron . Charles . 20 Best Albums of '95 . Spin . Jan 1996 . 11 . 10 . 62.
  8. Web site: Artist Chart History: Elastica . . 13 June 2013 . 13 March 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130313085021/http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/elastica/ . live .
  9. Web site: Elastica – Artist Profile . . 1 September 2003 . 11 May 2009 . Bloch . Sam . 26 June 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120626021851/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/artist_profile/elastica.htm . live .
  10. Encyclopedia: http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-musicians/elastica-biography . Elastica . Contemporary Musicians . Elastica Become Pop Stars . 29 . 2006 . DeRemer . Leigh Ann . Contemporary Musicians . Gale Cengage, 2000 . 7 September 2011 . 4 November 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081104064843/http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-musicians/elastica-biography . live .
  11. Billboard 200 . Billboard . 10 June 1995 . 107 . 23 . 84 . 13 November 2018 . 1 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210401042343/https://books.google.com/books?id=0QsEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA1&pg=RA1-PA84 . live .
  12. Borzillo . Carrie . Elastica's DGC Set Connects With Fans . Billboard . 20 May 1995 . 107 . 20 . 42 . 5 June 2020 . 1 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210401042415/https://books.google.com/books?id=2AsEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA1&pg=PA42 . live .
  13. Brits Around The World. Billboard. 108. 7. 58. 17 February 1996. 5 March 2018. 1 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210401042346/https://books.google.com/books?id=Gw8EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA1&pg=PA58. live.
  14. Sexton . Paul . Elastica bounces back with 2nd set . Billboard . 1 April 2000 . 112 . 14 . 14 . 23 January 2019 . 1 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210401042347/https://books.google.com/books?id=ww4EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA7&pg=PA14 . live .
  15. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: 200–101 . . 25 October 2013 . 21 August 2015 . 28 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150928002659/http://www.nme.com/photos/the-500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-200-101/324534 . live .
  16. Book: 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

    Revised and Updated Edition

    . Dimery . Robert . . 2010 . 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  17. Web site: 50 Best Alternative Albums of the '90s. Metro Weekly. Gerard. Chris. 4 April 2014. 31 December 2016. 12 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140512073145/http://www.metroweekly.com/2014/04/50-best-alternative-albums-of-the-90s/. live.
  18. Web site: The 50 Best Britpop Albums. Pitchfork. 30 May 2017. 29 March 2017. 2 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170602164010/http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/10045-the-50-best-britpop-albums/?page=5. live.
  19. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1995. Official Charts Company. 18 September 2021.

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