_The Black and White Album_ - The Hives

Where's my Swedish punk? C'mon Pelle, I want you to crack your voice and scream at the top your lungs. Your controlled vocal chaos has always been the highlight of your albums. There's just something about that off kilter screech that gets the adrenaline flowing. Your newest album is dragging though. Not to say that's it's not enjoyable, but it's not that pure pulse pounding, speed punk that I remember you for.
With _The Black and White Album_, The Hives are moving more into garage rock than even _Tyrannosaurus Hives_. The album's overall feel is a lot more melodic, with catchy choruses and funkier bass lines. It's a solid album, no doubt, but it's not what I was expecting.
The first track, "Tick Tick Boom" is a direct lead off from the previous album. It would be at home following "B is for Brutus" and "Diabolic Scheme". It seems that The Hives can still recognize a good power chord progression. "Try it again" adds some feminine background vocals to the mix. It's quite jarring to hear Howlin' Pelle's voice over what could be interpreted as young children, but hey, it works, so who am I to argue.
"You got it all...Wrong" is the most frustrating track for me. Frustrating, only because it's just a stones throw away from the hyperactive gold of _Barely Legal_. It just still feels like The Hives are holding back.
The album dips in quality just a bit with the next track. "Well Alright!" is a bit of plod. It's almost borderline boring. It gets repetitive quickly and overstays it's welcome just a tad. "Hey little World" is a nice recovery. It's nothing great, but it does sport a fun chorus that's lends itself to singing along.
This recovery doesn't last long though. Next up is the awful "A Stroll through Hive Manor Corridors". When I picture a mansion owned by The Hives, I see closets full of strangely colored business suits and people jumping off the three story roof into a swimming pool filled Red Bull. According to this instrumental, it seems I'm dead wrong. Apparently, The Hive Manor is filled with long, droll hallways, with not much to look at. I'm gonna write this song off as an intermission to a relatively decent album, and pretend I never heard it. Yes, it's that bad.
"It Won't be Long" brings back into more energetic territory. It's gotta catchy main riff and Pelle ventures into some new, and promising vocal territory which makes this song quite memorable.
"T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S", as well as being a bitch to type, features funky, slightly disco-ish beat. It's fun, but again, it shows that The Hives are slowing down. "Return the Favor" lets Howlin' Pelle finally live up to his title for the first time on this album. He really lets voice go. These are the vocals that I miss.
"Giddy Up" is trippy to say the least. It sounds like The Hives found a soundboard in their back closet and decided that they had to incorporate it into their new album. This song feels out of place for the band, but every musician is entitled to experiment with their sound, so I can't knock them for it.
"Square one Here I come" shifts things back to rock. It's a pretty middle of the road track for the band. It's not bad, but you'll forget about it within the pause between tracks. Then The Hives give pop music a shot, and "You dress Up for Armageddon" shows that they can do pop as well as any other artist. It's catchy, it's fun, and it's one of the better tracks on this album.
"Puppet on a string" brings back that slow rhythm that the band seems to be peddling this LP. At least Pelle breaks it up with some interesting spoken verses. The album goes out the way it came in, with a track that sounds like it was ripped from they're last album. It's a fun song, but ultimately it ends this outing with The Hives in the center of mediocrity.
Overall, anyone who is a fan of The Hives should consider checking this album out, only to see where everyone's favorite Swedish rock group is heading. Next time around though, somebody give the band a cup of coffee, cause they need an energy boost.
Overall rating: 3.0/5.0