In the last two weeks, both Elastica and Catatonia have split.
Both splits were not too surprising. Both bands were once mega-successes but have suffered career lulls due to disappointing receptions of their most recent albums. Both bands demises were aided by "extra-musical circumstances", but of completely different natures.
I will be clear about this: I do not mourn Elastica one single bit. They were easily the most overrated band of the Britpop era. They had a couple of catchy singles, loads of tuneless filler, and a singer who, thanks to her famous acquaintances (ex-Suede, ex-Damon), was branded with a stardom that vastly outstripped her talent, resulting in her big head for believing she was 1000 times sexier than she really was. Praise was thrust upon them for their very inception, thanks to the timely release of their debut single "Stutter" with the ascent of Suede, who were the hottest property in British rock at the time, and the first Great English Hope of the post-grunge era. They spent forever making their debut, got loads of airplay on both sides of the ocean, and sold bucketloads of records. Then they fell victim to the Stone Roses Syndrome. Infighting, members leaving and being replaced, five years between albums, but most of all, a belief that fame would just happen, with the pieces randomly falling back into place despite the time spent away. In the interim, particularly the last three spectacular years of music fandom, fans were so spoilt for choice that it was easy to find other bands to love, and Elastica's return was smoothly lost in the shuffle.
On the other hand, Catatonia's fall is particularly tragic, because they were on top of the world less than three years ago. They are the 90's version of Frankie Goes to Hollywood -- meteoric rise to prominence after springing forth from near-obscurity, then slipping from biggest band in the UK to gonesville in only a couple of years. People are bound to think that Cerys state of mind fell into psychological turmoil because "she couldn't take the fame" or "the price of stardom is high", but I've never believed that. Stardom doesn't destroy people, people destroy people. Like Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones, and a million others, she had a choice. If she didn't want to be in a pop band, if she needed to distance herself from whatever she was becoming, she could have gone home and done something else. She could have quit the music business, taken a few years off, whatever, she didn't have to go out night after night and drink herself into oblivion while hobnobbing at celebrity gatherings. I wouldn't do her the indignity of pretending to understand what she's going through, but it's undeniable that her problems led directly to the demise of Catatonia. They had always consisted of Cerys + nameless blokes in the eyes of most who had heard of them, meaning it was undeniably impossible for them to exist in any fashion with a healthy, vibrant Cerys. For that, and many other things, I really feel for her.
