The Hives

George Carlin once wondered aloud how it was possible to be nostalgic about a concept like "a little while ago," but if any band proves it to be possible, it's The Hives. The Hives were leaders of the garage-rock explosion in the early 2000's, along with The Strokes and The White Stripes, and while both of the latter bands evolved drastically over the years to follow, The Hives still stand entrenched in their energetic, punk-laced rock 'n' roll.

From the opening yelps of "Tick Tick Boom," Howlin' Pelle Almqvist transports us back to a time when The Hives were set to be the next great saviours of rock 'n' roll—thunderous rhythm sections, matching white suits and senseless, ego-driven lyrics are still the band's M.O.

Most songs on the album are interchangeable bursts of infectious energy, but the Hives throw in just enough curveballs to justify the 45 minute running time. "Well All Right!" hijacks a swing rhythm and turns it into a demented GAP ad, while "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." allows Almqvist time and space to express his love for Prince.

The Hives' continued appeal defies logic—they laugh at their own success while simultaneously proclaiming themselves the best band in the world; they realize the absurdity of being a rock star while reflecting the stereotype to the fullest; and most notably, their music hasn't changed in seven years. The combination of which would spell doom for most bands.

"They say the definition of madness is doing the same thing and expecting a different result," Almqvist declares on "Try It Again," and the band proves it to be true. The Black and White Album is no different musically than their previous work, and it provides the same result—fun and refreshing until the last note.

—Nathan Atnikov
11.13.07

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 rock, 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, new 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. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide