ELASTICA‘s Justine Frischmann has spoken for the first time about making their “very difficult” second LP and has described finishing it as a “personal triumph”.
She continued: “In many ways it’s more personal than the first one. It really is a reflection of what we’ve been through and that was like into the darkness and back into the light!”
In an interview with Steve Lamacq recorded last week and broadcast last night on his Radio 1 show, Justine also talked about the pressures of stardom, which she finds “soulless and depressing”, the demise of her relationship with Damon Albarn, what the band have been doing in the four years since the last album came out, how they got sucked into the rock’n’roll lifestyle and the accompanying drug scene, the tensions that led to Donna Matthews leaving the band and what lies ahead for Elastica.
She also revealed that she hopes the comeback of Elastica will go some way to filling the gap she feels currently exists in the British music scene – despite modestly playing down the release of their new six-track EP, out on August 23 through Deceptive.
“It’s so boring watching everyone do everything to the same set pattern at the moment,” she said. “I’m a bit disappointed what a massive gap there is between the likes of Blur, Suede and Radiohead and then bands like Add N To (X). There’s nothing bridging the gap at all.
“Bands like Mogwai, Leila and Add N To (X) are all doing something challenging and then there’s this quite grim slog of major record company (bands) – loads of money, lots of exposure, five singles off an album… I just can’t be bothered to do it that way.”
She also criticised Albarn for saying more than he should have about their break-up.
“That was a bit strange. I wouldn’t personally have chosen it to have been the case but that’s the way it went,” she said.
“There’s an awful lot of things that I don’t think Damon would’ve said if I had’ve been in the room at the time!”
Elastica make their comeback live appearance at the Reading and Leeds festivals over the August Bank Holiday weekend. . Click to check out the Leeds 99 and Reading 99 message boards.
Tickets are available from nme.com‘s 24-hour ticketline on 0870 121 0125 or click here to go to our online gig guide and ticket service.