Sliver – Nirvana

Sliver

★★★★★
Nirvana
6:11 min • Sub Pop Records • September 1, 1990
Walter Beck reviews
…………………………………………………………………………………………

The last non-album single released by Nirvana and their final release before they became the biggest rock ‘n’ roll band in America, the ‘Sliver’ single found the band evolving in their sound, stripping back their stronger metal influences heard on their debut album Bleach and moving towards the melodic hard-edged punk-soaked grunge that would make them famous.

The recording of the single itself is legendary amongst Nirvana fans, recorded during a dinner break by the band Tad and with temporary drummer Dan Peters (from Mudhoney), the fly-by-night pace of the recording resulting in one of the strongest moments the band had as an underground act.

‘Sliver’ is a thumping melodic rocker, featuring the soft/hard dynamic that became a signature of the band’s sound. Front man Kurt Cobain shifts from a mellow, relaxed singing as the song begins before nearly shredding his throat with his hoarse screaming as the song builds and finally ends.

Kurt’s voice isn’t the only part that shifts – instrumentally the band follows as well, with bassist Krist Novoselic starting with hypnotic plucking before forcing it out with Kurt’s guitar and drummer Dan Peters’ increasingly violent pounding.

Lyrically, ‘Sliver’ encompasses the exaggerated autobiographical tales that became Cobain’s signature. Describing a broken home and loneliness, the song rings through the strongest during the chorus;

Grandma take me home,
Grandma take me home,
Grandma take me home,
Grandma take me home,
Grandma take me home,
Grandma take me home,
Grandma take me home,
Wanna be alone –

The B-side ‘Dive’ is much noisier assault, with Kurt’s distorted guitar, Novoselic’s low and dirty bass and Dan Peters’ thick drumming. While there is a melodic, poppy undertone to this song, it’s buried underneath the audio destruction of the band. This song remains one of the purest examples of “grunge” Nirvana ever cut, it’s noisy, soaked in punk rock, and has that thick sounding tone that became a hallmark for grunge.

Lyrically as well the song reflects classic grunge sensibility, a powerful sense of self-alienation and a violent cry unto the world;

Pick me, pick me, yeah,
Everyone is waiting,
Hit me, Hit me yeah,
I’m real good at hating.

Dive, dive, dive, Dive in me,
Dive, dive, dive, Dive in me,
Dive in me,
Dive in me,
Dive in me –

A little more than a year after this single was released, Nirvana would explode into mainstream America as their major label debut Nevermind shot up the charts and turned the nation’s youth on to the sounds happening in the Northwest.

But for the die-hard Nirvana fan, this single is a gem, capturing their peak as an underground band. Even for the casual fan, this single is worth seeking out (it’s still in print), if only to hear what the band was before they became household names.