April 19, 2002

Gluecifer : Basement Apes

Excellent Norwegian garage rock...

7 / 10 Gluecifer come from Scandinavia and like to rock. And while this may pitch them with Hives, Soundtrack Of Our Lives and other contemporaries who hail from up near the Arctic Circle, their sound is hewn from an altogether hoarier old rock.

Formed in Norway in 1994, they have tamed a little since the days they released EPs called 'Dick Disguised As Pussy'.
But they still stick to fundamentals. Round their way, it's all crashing 12 bar licks, thunderous drums and rumbling bass – the exultant, raucous 'Easy Living', the teeth-grinding rush of 'Reversed' and pure drive of 'Not Enough For You'.

While the album title may be a nod to Bob Dylan's ramshackle, mercurial gem 'Basement Tapes', you can rest assured that as Gluecifer's own name is drawn from two of the core elements of punk and metal, they don't lapse into nods towards the golden sunrise of Americana.

Instead, they've come up with one of the finest, old fashioned, forward-looking rock and roll records of the year.

Paul McNamee

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