B-Side Guys

Tom Gluewicki chose Tennessee as placeholder that became permanent. The song carries no geographical specificity—it’s gratitude disguised as location, a thank you note to people who give without transaction. Tender Glue’s live album Time Machine revisits a decade of material from his catalog, re-recording songs that span from his 2015 debut Wait For Steady Light through subsequent releases. “You Are Tennessee” emerges with what Gluewicki describes as VHS texture, the warm analog haze of 1980s movie credits that hits particularly hard at 1:13 when the bass arrives.

That bass moment matters because it shifts the track from ambient drift into grounded presence, the kind of textural contrast that defines Gluewicki’s minimal approach. Originally from Poland and relocated to New York in 2002, his journey into music started at twelve with a broken guitar his brother brought home. That DIY origin story informs everything Tender Glue produces—raw recordings made with whatever equipment exists, whether in home studios or Manhattan closet spaces. His 2018 album Closet Leftovers was literally recorded in his studio apartment closet after moving from Brooklyn, that physical constraint shaping the intimate production quality.

The live session format for Time Machine allows Gluewicki to reconsider how these songs function a decade later. Revisiting work from multiple albums creates dialogue between past and present versions of the same artist, the time machine of the title operating bidirectionally. “You Are Tennessee” benefits from this retrospective treatment, the song’s simple structure—invitations to sing and dream, acknowledgment of generous treatment—gaining weight through accumulated experience.

Gluewicki frames Tender Glue not as person or band but as urge to create, which accurately captures his prolific output and willingness to work within limitations. His Don’t Label Me Records operates with similar independence, maintaining control over how and when material reaches listeners. “You Are Tennessee” dedicates itself to genuinely selfless people, those whose intentions remain pure without expectation of return. The track treats that kind of generosity as worthy of documentation, simple gratitude expressed through music that values texture and feeling over technical complexity.