The Hives: The Black and White Album
If they weren’t your new favorite band before, they should be now.
The Hives are a band that is often pigeonholed, undeservedly, as a novelty act for their comical antics both on and off the stage. I suppose we live in a time in which it is expected that our rock and roll be delivered as stoic and serious as can be managed, which is unfortunate. The words “haunting” and “intense” are used more often than I would like to describe the supposedly impressive performances by yawn inducing and soon to be irrelevant bands like The Arcade Fire. Music is supposed to be fun, and The Hives are one of the only rock bands in action today that not only remembers that, but puts this theory into practice every single day without holding back in the slightest.
The Hives’ new album, “The Black and White Album”, is one of the most complete albums you will hear this year. There is not one filler song on this whole album, and for good reason. The band recorded as many as 20-30 songs for The Black and White Album, over the course of a year or more. They enlisted some of the best producers from every genre of music, from Jacknife Lee (Bloc party, Kasabian, U2) to Pharrell (Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Britney Spears). As a result of this spirited musical experimentation, nearly every song that made it onto the final cut of the album has “hit single” written all over it.
Hives drummer Chris Dangerous has explained that the idea behind “The Black and White Album” was for it to sound like a “greatest hits’ album, spanning several generations of music. From the first listen, it’s easy to discern which songs are inspired by what era. Songs like “Won’t Be Long“ have a distinct new wave flavor to them. “Well All Right” recalls the swinging glam of The New York Dolls. “Return The Favour” sounds a bit like 70’s era Ramones, while “T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.“ calls to mind the disco-themed Rolling Stones album, “Some Girls”. Music nerds will have so much fun guessing where the inspiration for each song came from, that they’ll want to listen to the entire album over and over again.
“The Black and White Album” should serve as the new model for how rock albums (which often sound like too much of the same thing) should be recorded. From start to finish, this is a fun, energetic, danceable album that sounds great and should be killer live. Definitely pick up this album and try to catch the Hives live when they come through on tour early next year. Their passion, physicality and comical egomania make for a great show that is not too be missed.
Photos by Kristian Antila
