Album Review: The Hives - The Black and White Album :: Wessex Scene Online

Album Review: The Hives - The Black and White Album

9th November 2007
Jason Groves

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Six years ago The Hives ventured from the small Swedish town of Fagersta in order to stamp their authority on the UK music scene with Your New Favourite Band, an album widely acclaimed at a time when punk rock was not at the fore; and blistering punk rock it was!

The next two years culminated in Tyrannosaurus Hives, a longer, more progressive album that retained the bullet-train bass and new-age punk that had endeared The Hives to so many.

In The Black And White Album, however, they have moved on from familiar territory in order to create a new sound. It is a direction undeniably more mainstream than that we have come to expect from the Swedish group, but it is nonetheless an adventurous sound that maintains the riff-based rock brilliance of their previous records. This transition from adrenalized punk to a more varied record will inevitably disappoint avid fans expecting the next instalment of all-out punk rock, but it is a mouth-watering prospect to those who have enjoyed the popular singles such as ‘Walk Idiot Walk’, and ‘Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones’.

Having attracted the interest of major record labels, Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist (vocals) recognises that some may view the new album as an obvious attempt at mainstream success. If indeed they have "sold out" (as some may view it), then it has been well worth it to create what is perhaps their best record yet.

The album is long, with fifteen tracks that some may consider too many, but the sheer variation of the album makes it work and is crucial to its success. This is testament to its exquisite production, which took The Hives across the world as they worked with such names as Pharrell Williams, Jacknife Lee, and Dennis Herring; which too perhaps goes someway to explaining the album’s range.

‘Tick Tick Boom’, the single that preceded the release of the album and opening track, sets the tone for the rest of what truly is a fantastic album. ‘Try It Again’ and ‘You Got It…All Wrong’ are absolute belters that will undoubtedly get even the most stubborn of critics moving with their typically energetic guitar-riffs, whilst ‘T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S’ fuses a beat not unlike hip-hop with the majestic bass of Dr. Matt Destruction to create one hell of a tune. Tracks like ‘Puppet on a String’ and ‘A Stroll through Hive Manor Corridors’ are more peculiar additions to the album, with traits similar to Modest Mouse. They help to substantiate the massive array of sounds on the album and will surely appeal to a wider fan-base. ‘Bigger Hole to Fill’ is arguably the pick of the bunch, blending the snazzier new elements with the typically punk rock sound of old, rounding up the album in spectacular fashion. All in all, this record is superb. For those who consider themselves Hives fans it is an essential purchase; for those who are uncertain, certainty is only fifteen tracks away.

The Black and White Album is out now on Universal.