Tyrannosaurus Hives
I laid my hands on the latest album from Swedish punks, The Hives last Thursday and have been listening to it incessantly ever since.
I’m no music reviewer, so I’m not goint to try. Instead, here’s what Amazon said:
Refreshingly though, even under the yoke of a major label, the Hives play their rock & roll like a fuse burning short. “Abra Cadaver” is a two-minute blast of Stooges worship that joyfully confirms the band’s pledge to straight-up garage–and intriguingly, it finds lead singer Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist sounding more like the Strokes’ Julian Casablancas than ever, albeit Casablancas with blood on his shoes and skin under his fingernails. Meanwhile, there’s myriad moments where the Hives demonstrate themselves to be far more than a boozy bar-band: “No Pun Intended”, which wields a curious complex chord progression you’d perhaps expect from Fugazi, or “Diabolic Scheme” a taut, mid-paced number bedecked with stabbing violin sweeps straight out of a Hammer horror.
The Hives are such a wonderfully over the top antidote to the self important blandness that infects most modern pop and rock that I’d probably love them on principle. It’s a huge bonus, therefore, that their music is so listenable.
Monday 06 Sep 2004 | Paul | Music
