4. Elastica | Connection

"Connection" by Elastica from the album Elastica (1994)

Of all of Britpop's top tier, Elastica came up the fastest - it's worth remembering that when their 1995 self-titled album became the fastest-selling debut in UK history, it topped the record Oasis had just set seven months prior. Perhaps it's because Elastica is such an urgent record, with the glammy oomph of "Connection" powering them to the top with handclaps and two-note synth riffs. Justine Frischmann was the movement's ice queen, matching the yearning dandyism of her male counterparts with a glassy stoicism that managed to filter frostily through the speakers even as it rocked as snappily as the best of her competition. Many wag a finger at the band for their blatant Wire appropriation, but Mssrs. Newman and Co. should have written Frischmann a cheque instead of the other way around, if only for bringing this sort of herky-jerky crunch back from the dead in such an effortless manner.

_Daniel Brockman

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