Tender Is the Savage
(Sub Pop)
It is tempting to dismiss Gluecifer by saying they blew it all on the name, but there are some primordial grunts of masculine energy on this record that demand that this Swedish quintet be given a fair chance. The fact that the music to which most of the said grunts are set sounds pretty much the same is only as important as which side of the fence you’re standing on: proponent of Scandinavian garage assault (you’ll love it) or a highfalutin’ snob who treasures things like intelligence and insight (probably make you gag). For the latter Gluecifer offers a steel-toed boot to the groin, while the former receives a loving (but in a manly way) slug in the arm.
Certainly Tender Is the Savage is one of the most knuckle-headed onslaughts of the season, as a quick scan of the titles bears out: “The General Says Hell Yeah!”, “Drunk and Pompous”, “Red Noses, Shit Poses”, and “Dog Day, Dog Night”, which doesn’t seem to be about working at a doggy daycare provider. No, Gluecifer spends the 34 minutes of this disc asserting their superiority over most all other forms of life, delivering lots of shout along choruses and musical body blows with a mixture of MC5, Rose Tattoo and Ted Nugent-inspired roar. Singer Biff Malibu (note: may not be his real name) growls in a Andrew Dice Clay sort of way through lyrics like, well, never mind the lyrics. The point is, while the barrage of Tender Is the Savage is rabbit punching your head, an unsettling insight is shaken loose: For a band to sound this stupid, they have to actually be pretty smart.
After repeated plays, however, you realize that insight is completely wrong. They did blow it all on the name.
Time Out New York, 2000
