Artist: The Hives
Album: The Black and White Album
Genre: Rock
Label: Interscope
Our friends from Sweden are at it again with their fourth studio album, once again bearing their raw, trademark garage rock sound. Though their 2004 album Tyrannosaurs Hives provided a decent dose of unbridled, unrefined rawk, not since 2000’s Veni Vidi Vicious have the Hives proved their worth as media icons (remember the maniac guitar trip of “Hate to Say I Told You So?”) Back in their niche seven years later, the Swedish garage-punk players attempt to refine their style and throw in some experiments of their own.
Does this formula work? Unfortunately, we are left with mixed results. Those longing for the raw power of Vicious will only find it sporadically, but these brief moments are enough to lift the album above mediocrity. The tracks “Try It Again” and “Return the Favor” are so rough and so undeniably catchy that you’ll be unable to shake them from your head, while their sonic expertise is never more present than in the daring opening number, “Tick Tick Boom.” A powerful track that slays the listener within its first stanza, “Tick Tick Boom” carries the audience through undulating riffs and some of the most angst-ridden (yet completely nonsensical) lyrics that the Swedish quintet have ever written.
After this initial adrenaline rush and the poppy follow-up, “Try It Again,” the Hives seem to have pledged a worthy successor to Vicious, but this impression withers away before long. They stray into uncharted territory for most of the CD’s fourteen tracks and the results are hit and miss. “Puppet on a String” involves only piano and a bit of clapping, while “A Stroll Through Hives Manor Corridors” is an entirely instrumental song using only a 1960’s organ and a drum machine. They even throw in a bit of unwanted do-wop with the ridiculous “Giddy Up!” The entertainment value is minimal for all three.
Some of their gambles pay off though, especially in the hip-hop flavored “T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.” featuring Pharrell Williams. While not as moshpit-worthy as most Hives songs, it is satisfying and danceable.
Overall, The Black and White Album is a worthy effort by Sweden’s garage rock ambassadors, but we know from history that they are capable of better. While you’re waiting for the true counterpart of Vicious, however, be sure to catch one of their live shows. They are without a doubt the true kings of the stage.
-Anthony Kozlowski
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Tags: album, black, black and white album, garage, hives, Music, Pharrell Williams, review, rock, Sweden, white
