Gluecifer

Automatic Thrill (SPV)
by Ari M. Joffe

Attention: It’s now OK for all you Mötley Crüe and L.A. Guns fans to come out of the closet. After a brief hiatus (in which, at least for a moment, it looked like rock music with a balance of brawn and brains was gonna become the criterion for cool), that old swaggering, oblivious, party rock is back in demand. And it seems like the nation of Sweden is trying to fill that demand all by themselves by sending a steady flow of uber-cool studs armed with Epiphone guitars, tight jeans, bed-head hairstyles, and warmed over/slicked up Stooges riffs to America. The Hives, The Hellacopters, and now Gluecifer.

To be fair, Gluecifer has been around for a sec. They’ve released a bunch of stuff in the U.S. on Sub Pop, and they’ve toured with respectable American counterparts like Nashville Pussy and Monster Magnet. They’ve got that familiar, big beat, bluesy power riff sound with throaty vocals, and slickly produced, competent songs. It’s just that too much of it sounds like outtakes from Dr. Feelgood. In particular, “Dingdong Thing,” “Car Full of Stash,” and “Here Come the Pigs.” And the lyrics are just plain dumb. But, I guess you gotta cut ’em some slack, since English is their second language.

Seems like the hipsters, or at least the ones around my hood, love this stuff. Not sure if they love it in an ironic, “isn’t it silly we’re throwing up the devil horns like when we were in high school” kind of way, or if it’s genuine. Either way, I ain’t drinkin’ the Kool Aid, Jim. Guess I’m not hip enough.
(www.spvusa.com)