Spring Break
The Daily OrangeGetting buzzed from The Hives
The Hives show up a rocking split personality in "The Black and White Album"
By Dave Arey
Posted: 11/12/07, 10:43 PM EST Section: Decibel
The Hives
"The Black and White Album"
Rock
Sounds Like: The Stooges, The Strokes
75 Decibels
When punk music first became popular in the late '70s, everyone thought it was revolutionary except the artists. Joey Ramone of The Ramones said his band played sped-up '50s surf-rock and bubblegum pop. A close look reveals many punk bands followed a similar format.
Sweden's The Hives carry on this tradition, borrowing from the '50s and '60s to make music that feels simultaneously fresh and retro.
Lead singer Howlin' Pelle Almqvist treats every performance as if it were an audition for the next Mick Jagger - he twirls his microphone, energetically banters with the crowd and jumps around like a crazed man. The other band members, dressed in black and white suits, play rudimentary power-chord pop, sped up just enough for it to feel modern. It's a formula so basic no one thought it would work this well, or even last four albums.
Then again, The Hives know all of this. As Almqvist squawks in "Tick Tick Boom," "I've done it some more, and I can do it some more." And for the first half, "The Black and White Album" is pretty similar to the last few Hives albums. The guitars gallop, the rhythm section is tight and Almqvist is charmingly energetic while not saying anything all that interesting. It's great party music, but not necessarily great headphone music.
The second half of "The Black and White Album" is when the Hives begin to show their creative side. "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S," produced by Pharrell, sounds like a mixture of Kraftwerk and Prince - it's essentially a Teutonic sex romp, but it works surprisingly well. "Puppet on a String," with a slithery keyboard riff and cabaret-esque vocals, doesn't fare as well. But whether certain songs succeed or fail miserably, you have to admire their guts.
The Hives band members always showed hints that they wanted to branch away from their stomp-chorus-stomp formula, one key example being the out-of-place ballad "Find Another Girl" on their breakthrough "Veni Vedi Vicious." But never before have they been this brazen. There's even an instrumental song called "Hive Manor Corridors," stuck in the middle of the album between two other songs that sound nothing like it.
On "The Black and White Album," The Hives sound like two completely different bands. One has its formula down, while the other is still finding its sound. One is rooted firmly in the past, while the other clumsily moves toward the future. Once the two halves actually come together, a great band will emerge. But until then, it's at least encouraging that they're breaking away from their normal formula and showing the potential to become truly revolutionary.
The Hives claim "Randy Fitzsimmons," an honorary "Sixth Hive" who helped form and manage the band, writes all of their songs. British magazine NME has revealed that "Randy Fitzsimmons" has been used as a pseudonym for guitarist Nicholaus "Arson" Almqvist, thus making it likely the band's songs are written by the guitarist. Still, it's funny to think that somewhere, a Swedish lyrical mad scientist is concocting bon mots like "Juggling chainsaws with just one hand, falling down the stairs with a marching band" ("Well, All Right!").
"The Black and White Album"
Rock
Sounds Like: The Stooges, The Strokes
75 Decibels
When punk music first became popular in the late '70s, everyone thought it was revolutionary except the artists. Joey Ramone of The Ramones said his band played sped-up '50s surf-rock and bubblegum pop. A close look reveals many punk bands followed a similar format.
Sweden's The Hives carry on this tradition, borrowing from the '50s and '60s to make music that feels simultaneously fresh and retro.
Lead singer Howlin' Pelle Almqvist treats every performance as if it were an audition for the next Mick Jagger - he twirls his microphone, energetically banters with the crowd and jumps around like a crazed man. The other band members, dressed in black and white suits, play rudimentary power-chord pop, sped up just enough for it to feel modern. It's a formula so basic no one thought it would work this well, or even last four albums.
Then again, The Hives know all of this. As Almqvist squawks in "Tick Tick Boom," "I've done it some more, and I can do it some more." And for the first half, "The Black and White Album" is pretty similar to the last few Hives albums. The guitars gallop, the rhythm section is tight and Almqvist is charmingly energetic while not saying anything all that interesting. It's great party music, but not necessarily great headphone music.
The second half of "The Black and White Album" is when the Hives begin to show their creative side. "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S," produced by Pharrell, sounds like a mixture of Kraftwerk and Prince - it's essentially a Teutonic sex romp, but it works surprisingly well. "Puppet on a String," with a slithery keyboard riff and cabaret-esque vocals, doesn't fare as well. But whether certain songs succeed or fail miserably, you have to admire their guts.
The Hives band members always showed hints that they wanted to branch away from their stomp-chorus-stomp formula, one key example being the out-of-place ballad "Find Another Girl" on their breakthrough "Veni Vedi Vicious." But never before have they been this brazen. There's even an instrumental song called "Hive Manor Corridors," stuck in the middle of the album between two other songs that sound nothing like it.
On "The Black and White Album," The Hives sound like two completely different bands. One has its formula down, while the other is still finding its sound. One is rooted firmly in the past, while the other clumsily moves toward the future. Once the two halves actually come together, a great band will emerge. But until then, it's at least encouraging that they're breaking away from their normal formula and showing the potential to become truly revolutionary.
The Sixth Hive?
The Hives claim "Randy Fitzsimmons," an honorary "Sixth Hive" who helped form and manage the band, writes all of their songs. British magazine NME has revealed that "Randy Fitzsimmons" has been used as a pseudonym for guitarist Nicholaus "Arson" Almqvist, thus making it likely the band's songs are written by the guitarist. Still, it's funny to think that somewhere, a Swedish lyrical mad scientist is concocting bon mots like "Juggling chainsaws with just one hand, falling down the stairs with a marching band" ("Well, All Right!").
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