Formed hot on the heels of the Norwegian trendsetters
Turbonegro, and pre-empting the Scandinavian garage rock revival by quite a few years, Oslo-based quintet
Gluecifer made their full-length debut with 1997's surprisingly memorable
Ridin' the Tiger. And, although they were clearly steeped in the same, post-glam, pure rock urges of their denim-clad, N.A.M.B.L.A.-loving heroes, there was also something decidedly
Motörhead-ish about
Gluecifer's brand of speed-addled psychosis (a feature also espoused by labelmates like
the Hellacopters and the
Backyard Babies, let it be said). The proof is in the pudding, as they say, and the pudding here contains a steady recipe of pedal-to-the-metal racers ("Leather Chair," "Evil Matcher," the self-evident "Burnin' White"), only interrupted by nearly as teetotal laughers like "Rock'n'Roll Asshole" and the wonderfully dangerous "Rockthrone." In fact, the members of
Gluecifer were still so hopelessly addicted to that rush at this stage in their career, that they only find time to stop maniacally pogo-ing around the room on two or three occasions; and it's fair to say they sounded rather more ill at ease than self assured on the purposefully slick "Bounced Checks," the intensely groove-based "Titanium Sunset," and the amusingly warped "Obi Damned Kenobi." Still, for a debut album
Ridin' the Tiger was a more than capable and even promising first step on
Gluecifer's lengthy run. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia