Elastica [VINYL]

Elastica

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