Still dressed entirely in black and white, still trading under ludicrous stage names such as Chris Dangerous and Vigilante Carlstroem, and still making high-kicking punk rock that avoids any hint of musical maturity despite the fact that they’re now in their mid-forties, The Hives are nothing if not committed.
Another tenet the Swedish band have held to since they started in the late Nineties is the idea that all their songs are written by a mysterious sixth member called Randy Fitzsimmons, who has never been seen. Well now it’s RIP Randy. This sixth album, their first for 11 years, arrives accompanied by a shaggy dog story that includes a local newspaper obituary, a cryptic treasure hunt and an empty grave containing new suits and demos of 12 new songs.
The premise allows the band to continue trading in incendiary silliness, with no expectation to sing about their personal heartache or discuss global politics. They also don’t need to give a genuine reason for being silent for so long (though there have been regular gigs, a live album and a couple of singles since they last made a studio album).
Instead, as with Angus Young’s AC/DC school uniform and Slash’s top hat, the pleasure here is in nothing changing as time moves ever faster. “Who the f*** wants mature rock’n’roll? That’s always where people go wrong,” singer Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist said recently. To which end, all but four songs are less than three minutes long, including the warp speed minute of Trapdoor Solution. The Bomb is the most ridiculous effort amid stiff competition, with Almqvist leading a call and response that twists itself into multiple negatives like a tick box trying to trick you into receiving marketing emails: “What don’t you wanna not don’t wanna not do? Not get up!”
What Did I Ever Do to You? is a rare slight diversion, with its electronic blips and a pace that doesn’t break the speed limit. Otherwise, it’ll be hard to find a more exhaustingly entertaining rock album this year. Smoke & Mirrors sounds like The Clash, except The Hives fought the law and The Hives won. The single Bogus Operandi comes with a mean riff, Almqvist howling “You’re gonna die!” and an eye-popping video that finds them in chunky black and white jumpers taking Scandi-crime to bloody new extremes.
No new directions, no ballads and no personal growth – exactly as expected, The Hives are as much fun as ever.
