Time and time again, the Hives have shown that they can crank out consistent, and consistently fun, garage rock. The Black and White Album's title alludes to the band's strict formulas for everything from color codes to dress codes to cleverly structured dumb ock, yet this is the album where the Hives break away from their routine -- they add some gray to the mix. At this point in their career, it's understandable that they'd want to break out of the mold, at least occasionally, even if they are the experts at honed, toned garage-punk. To that end, the band recorded with a host of different producers, from Dennis Herring (who worked on the bulk of the songs) to Pharrell Williams to Jacknife Lee, as well as on their own. Considering how many people worked on the album, it's a minor miracle that it has any cohesiveness at all, but the Hives nod to tradition by starting off with a bunch of sure-fire songs. "Tick Tick Boom" comes at your ears from all directions, full of snarling "yeah!"s and low-slung riffs that are tamped down like gunpowder before exploding on the choruses. "Hey Little World" is one of the band's best Stones-on-speed rockers in some time, and "You Got It All...Wrong" shows, once again, that nobody can write a put-down rave-up like the Hives can. If all the songs were this relentless, The Black and White Album could've lived up to its working title, The World's First Perfect Album, but the middle of the album finds the band taking risks. "A Stroll Through Hive Manor"'s tinny drum machine and horror show organ hints at the changes to come -- this is the first time a Hives album has had anything like an interlude on one of their albums before. Even small tweaks, like Howlin' Pelle Almqvist's more melodic vocals -- which recall Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos or even Billy Idol's dangerous croon -- on "Won't Be Long," or the cartoonish keyboards on "Puppet on a String," end up making a big difference on the Hives' sound. The more radical experiments are, not surprisingly, the album's most uneven moments. The Williams-produced "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." is a bit like the band's "Emotional Rescue": A mash-up of hip-hop-inspired beats, /p>
ew wave keyboards, and garage rock guitars, it might be more interesting than good, but it's also a lot of fun. "Giddy Up!," however, is just plain weird, with hiccuped backing vocals and free-falling synths -- but, while it doesn't quite work, it's too quirky and memorable to be outright bad. That The Black and White Album closes with another batch of non-stop, quintessentially Hives rockers like "Square One, Here I Come" and "You Dress Up for Armageddon" suggests that the band knows that its fans don't necessarily come to them for experimentation. While the balancing act between the Hives' new and old approaches is a little lopsided, making this album less amazing than Tyrannosaurus Hives, The Black and White Album should satisfy most fans while giving them a few challenging moments to chew on, too.
The Hives, in many respects, seem to be the heirs to the Ramones: sartorial gimmick, jackhammer tempos, catchy earworm choruses. What's not to love? The Hives' new album, The Black and White Album, starts with such a barrage of excellence that I was initially sure I was listening to the album of the year. The Single "Tick Tick Boom" leads into "Try It Again," which features cheerleaders on ...
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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 ...
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I left school at lunch with a friend, drove to a whole other town and practically ran to the record store to buy the Hives' new CD, The Black and White Album on its first day out. My friend even brought his laptop and we loaded up our iPods before going back to school. And I must say, IT WAS SO WORTH IT! A bit different than their others, but it may be my new favorite. Oh, and their album cover...
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--- - |- Photo by Joseph MohanThe Hives have pranced their way back onto our radar screens with the announcement of September dates on both American continents. South America comes first, followed by a North American co-headlining tour with Eagles of Death Metal.The Swedish quintet has quite a few summer festival dates in Europe before then. All of these shows are in support of last year's The...
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There might come a cursed day when I won’t need this delicious piece of Swedish garage punk rock. Till that day comes, I can continue being in love with The Hives, their new song & their new video…Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh!*bouncing off the walls*This post is dedicated to *"Eric":http://mog.com/Iren* ; get your lovely Hives lowdown from *"his post!":http://mog.com/Iren/blog_post/116671*
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The Hives fourth album will be titled The Black And White Album, according to the group's new website, The Hives Broadcasting Service (http://www.thehivesbroadcastingservice.com/#).The album will be released on October 9 in the U.S. The first single will be "Tick Tick Boom" and will be available for download on August 14.The new site includes a music player loaded with Hives tracks.
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Swedish post punkers The Hives have scheduled nearly 10 dates in North American followed by nearly 20 stops throughout most of Europe according to the band's website. The group will be promoting their 4Th full length venture ??The Black and White Album??. ??Black & White?? was released last October via Interscope and has garnered a fair degree of positive response from fans and critics alike, s...
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DAMNIT!where is my mind?there is a new *PIMPETTE*in town here at MOG,Darmuzz (sorry it took so long darling)go say hello and tell her how fuggin awesome she is.only a select few can be PIMPETTES.one day the PIMPETTE army will RAWK n rule the world.*RAWK* domination....i wonder is there interest for another PIMPETTE contest...or i may just choose another one or two myself....the others are liste...
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Perhaps you've already heard the first explosive single "Tick Tick Boom", off the Hives new The Black and White Album. That album tick, tick, booms in US record stores today. And, aw, how cute, The Black and White Album title even matches the Hives' matching suits. The Swedish rock acts new album isn't your conventional album. For it, the band worked with producers Jacknife Lee (Bloc Party), De...
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Swedish rock act The Hives just released their fourth studio album The Black and White Album. Drummer Chris Dangerous talked to me from the band’s tour bus on a rainy day in between dates with Maroon 5. Between the bigger arena acts The Hives have also been enjoying some smaller club shows. Their believed-to-be-imaginary sixth member/collaborator Randy Fitzsimmons was unsurprisingly no where to.
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Saturday, I had a date with a sexy Swede. Granted, he didn't know we had an appointment but he and his mates showed up none the less. I, and several hundred of my closest friends, gathered for The Hives at the Showbox SODO in Seattle. First, however, I had to endure Holy Ghost Revival. I got a serious casino Axel Rose impersonator vibe from the lead singer. Just in case you're wondering, th...
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The Hives have a new single release coming February 25th which will include "We Rule The World (T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S)" and "Tick Tick Boom." The single was produced by Pharrell Williams and will be available as a digital download and a limited release 10" record. Hives fans are encouraged to design the artwork for the record release for possible use as the official album art. According to NME:To ...
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The Hives have a new single release coming February 25th which will include "We Rule The World (T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S)" and "Tick Tick Boom." The single was produced by Pharrell Williams and will be available as a digital download and a limited release 10" record. Hives fans are encouraged to design the artwork for the record release for possible use as the official album art. According to NME:To ...
More >
The Hives, in many respects, seem to be the heirs to the Ramones: sartorial gimmick, jackhammer tempos, catchy earworm choruses. What's not to love? The Hives' new album, The Black and White Album, starts with such a barrage of excellence that I was initially sure I was listening to the album of the year. The Single "Tick Tick Boom" leads into "Try It Again," which features cheerleaders on ...
More >
4 out of 5 Hives, NYC, 2003The Hives tour is now underway! Opening in Atlanta, GA on May 15, the tour's first 3 dates feature Jack Oblivian as the opener - in a gracious tip of the hat from The Hives to Jack's role in the Compulsive Gamblers, an under-rated but important band from the 90s....to read more about it, please visit www.punkturns30.com
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When we talked with the Hives back in Ocotber, they were scaling the US with Maroon 5 and performing small club gigs in between. Now the Sveng-tastic rockers will be heading back stateside in support of The Black And White Album. The tour hits theater size venues beginning with Los Angeles' The Wiltern on February 19th. The Hives Tour Dates:February19 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern20 San Francis...
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I've had all sorts of music stuff happen to me of late, and I haven't posted a chirp. I suck. So, in an attempt to make up for my slovenliness, I offer you an update in the a very businesslike bulletpointed list, suitable for integration into any soul-crushing PowerPoint presentation: - Saw Interpol a few weeks back at the Forum in LA. Pretty awesome show, with more energy than you'd expect fr...
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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 ...
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 "The Black and White Album")
