Review: Christian Stanger
The Hives are sticking to their story and refusing all suggestions to change with age. They’ve been around for decades and a couple of years on from The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons, they’re back with exactly what you’d expect: another short, punchy sugar rush of garage punk that doesn’t bother to pretend to be anything but. They’ve got one story, they’ve been telling it for a while and they’re still finding ways to tweak the plot just enough to make it innovative, engaging and energising as it was when us old fellas first heard Die, All Right! on Triple J.
And so it is with this, The Hives Forever Forever The Hives, filled with bright, jumpy 2–3 minute hype-punk tracks that are, generally speaking, about being The Hives – and it doesn’t often get much deeper than that. Tracks might flirt with emotions of anger, frustration or even the odd character study (Enough is Enough, Legalise Living), but that’s only a breather between the main celebration of being alive, and being The Hives (ie. the title track). It’s all noise and swagger.
Enough is Enough kicks the door down after a brief fanfare of an intro, and as promised, it’s a banger. Not just a pogo-stick party anthem, a driving, angry banger. As if to hammer home that this band don’t just deliver celebratory punk, they have range, dammit! Then it’s straight into Hooray Hooray Hooray, and we’re back on familiar turf, heads are banging, toes tapping, and the band grinning with their tongues firmly in their cheeks again. It’s a similar vein with O.C.D.O.D. — upping the tempo, adding some distortion on the screamed vocals about whatever the fuck. It’s vintage stuff and feels like being dropped into a mosh-pit a few seconds post a confetti cannon.
Lyrically, Paint A Picture takes a detour into heavier territory, a sharp character study of an addict justifying their lifestyle. Lines like “I felt bad, I took a pill, dilate my iris and destroy my will” and “don’t follow them, maybe they’re lost too”, show Pelle Almqvist can pivot from preacher to poet without breaking stride. But make no mistake, the subject may be heavy, but verses sprint out at pace before collapsing into a thumping half-time chorus built for big arenas.
The title track, The Hives Forever Forever The Hives may as well be written in neon letters as a tailor-made show closer. Catchy as hell and executed like professionals. This track is a victory lap and you can already picture thousands of fists punching the air to it night after night. I’ve no idea why they weren’t already closing with it on last month’s Australian tour.
In the wider pop-punk and garage rock world, plenty of bands mellow out, chase trends or reinvent themselves to stay relevant. The Hives double down. With Pelle Almqvist, Nicholaus Arson, Vigilante Carlstroem, Dr. Matt Destruction (now live duties by The Johan and Only) and Chris Dangerous, they’ve built a career on catchiness, attitude and charisma – and they keep winning. This album doesn’t reinvent, it reaffirms, acting as a timely reminder that The Hives are still a vital force in rock and roll, and long may they reign.
THE HIVES FOREVER FOREVER THE HIVES – OUT 29 AUGUST
https://the-hives.ffm.to/
