| Elastica's fortunes may have been on the wane since they released the five-years-in-the-making The Menace, but the release of The Radio 1 Sessions, is an assured, spiky and immensely enjoyable parting shot that more than justifies the furore that initially greeted their arrival. Culled from the sessions that took place between 1994 and 1999, the album is inevitably heavily weighted towards songs from their eponymous debut and the ensuing singles and B-sides, given the prolonged period of inactivity between the two albums. Despite the band's--namely interminably cool singer Justine Frischmann's--indie celebrity status, it's worth noting that their debut sold half a million copies on account of their distinctive pop-fuelled take on new wave, rather than any notoriety that continually surrounded them. Opening with the brittle, sparky "Annie" and carousing through such gems as "Spastica", the eerie "Hold Me Now" and the synth-led "Human", the album is a prescient reminder of the sheer immediacy and pop thrill of Elastica's songs. By its very nature, this is a fan-only purchase, as songs rarely detract from their original versions, (there're also two unreleased tracks), but as an indication of how zeitgeist-grabbing Elastica truly were, the album is a blast. --Suzannah Brown |
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