The Hives, despite having enjoyed some measure of success in the past, seem to overestimate their "rocking" status. In comparison to fellow Euro rockers who broke the mainstream bubble, The Hives have yet to garner the level of success their attitude alludes to - let's just say that this isn't The Clash we're talking about.
Fortunately, the band's newest release, "The Black and White Album," is a refreshing new look at a band that was rapidly becoming a one-trick pony.
The group's first major label album, "Veni Vidi Vicious," released by Universal Records in both America and the band's native country of Sweden, brought The Hives to the forefront of the "garage rock" revival, along with other "The" bands such as The Strokes, The White Stripes and The Vines. The band boasted an energetic stage show as well as raw, spastic rock tunes that were, for the most part, extremely catchy.
Even on "Veni Vidi Vicious," the band has always had a knack for songs that have great guitar riffs and screams from lead singer "Howlin'" Pelle Almqvist, but don't seem to go anywhere. This lack of structure has always kept The Hives from being a total media success, but has given them enough publicity to be known beyond the garage rock scene.
2004 saw the release of "Tyrannosaurus Hives," the band's long-awaited follow-up to "Veni Vidi Vicious." The first single from the album, "Walk Idiot Walk," received heavy MTV airplay and quickly found its way into vigorous rotation on pop radio stations. The new album contained nothing particularly novel or interesting, just more lively up-tempo tunes, this time with a bit less melody and a heaping dose of toneless yelps from Almqvist.
Luckily, "The Black and White Album" puts a new spin on an old act that just wasn't utilizing the band's full potential. The first track on the album, "Tick Tick Boom," might sound familiar to most because of its use in a Finish Line shoe store commercial, and fittingly so. The track is an upbeat, four-to-the-floor, straight-ahead garage rock tune, eerily reminiscent of the Beatles' early work.
"Try It Again," the second track on the album, is perfectly placed in the lineup, since it's fairly similar to the opener, but if anything, is even more melodic and catchy, providing an easy draw into the rest of the album. The song is complete with 1960s-esque cheerleader squad backing vocals, and the chorus contains the hook "Doo-wacko-doo - that's right!" repeated in easy-to-follow fashion.
The fourth cut of the album, "Well All Right!" is not only a great listen, but was also the first of two tracks produced by a man whom most people would never expect to work with the likes of The Hives: Pharrell Williams. Yes, the same "Drop It Like It's Hot" Pharrell Williams.
Williams' production on the track is most obvious in drummer Chris Dangerous' work, which is surprisingly varied and groovy for a rather run-of-the-mill rock drummer. Even though "Well All Right!" is a great song in its own right, Williams' production later in the album is truly staggering.
Williams next appears on the eighth track, simply entitled "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." It's difficult to call this song the best on the album because it's so entirely different from anything the band has done before.
Rather than racing drums and treble-rich guitars, the song is pieced together from a heavily syncopated drumbeat (which may or may not be looped) and a single-note bassline that chugs along throughout the four-minute song. During the chorus, Almqvist announces that "We rule the world/ This is our world," followed by a deep, booming voice simply spelling out - you guessed it - "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S."
"Giddy Up" is another song that seems like it found its way onto a Hives album by accident, with programmed drumbeats and electonica-inspired sound effects flying all over the place. Even beyond that, there's barely any guitar on the track at all, and bassist Dr. Matt Destruction is once again in the front of the piece, holding it all together with a simple, firm bassline.
Now, with all this talk of genre-bending experimentation, some may wonder if the simple rock 'n' roll that The Hives did so well is still present on this album, and the answer is, of course, yes. For those that like the Almqvuist's howls and chorus-less two-minute rock blocks, they certainly make appearances on "The Black and White Album," but it is important to applaud The Hives for refusing stagnation and admitting, as they say in "Try It Again," "If same-ing isn't working/ Why don't you different instead?"
