After being dubbed "The Best Live Band in the World" by Spin magazine last year, some bands might crumble. Such enormous expectations might cause a group to buckle under the pressure. If The Hives and their new album, however, have anything to say about it, such will not be the case.
The White and Black Album, the band's fourth release, continues the phenomenal work they put forth in their last two CDs. The band takes their style even further with this album, experimenting with drastically different sounds; most of their attempts result in resounding successes, while some seem slightly forced.
The Swedish quintet first burst onto the music scene in 2002 with the infectious single "Hate to Say I Told You So." The tune became one of the most popular rock songs of the year and earned the band instant critical acclaim and commercial success. The Hives, along with similar groups like The Vines, The Strokes and The Libertines were immediately hailed as a band that had come along to give rock music a much-needed kick in the arse.
After the success of their debut Veni Vidi Vicious, the band tightened their work even further on their sophomore effort, Tyrannosaurus Hives. Though the album didn't produce a monster single like "Hate to Say I Told You So," the group continued their successful minimalist formula of wailing vocals, high-speed guitar riffs and sometimes nonsensical lyrics (case in point: "B is for Brutus"). But the group needed something more than just the same old routine for their third album, and they certainly deliver.
The White and Black Album starts off with a bang with the pop sensibility of "Tick Tick Boom," the album's first single. The tune displays the more typical aspects of the Hives' music, but at the same time shows exactly why they have become one of the most popular bands in the world. There is no doubt in my mind that "Tick Tick Boom" will be one of the most played songs on rock radio in no time at all. In fact, the song has already been chosen for the soundtrack of Madden NFL 2008.
The next few tracks continue in the same sort of style as "Tick Tick Boom.""Try It Again" and "Hey Little World" illustrate why the group deserves its reputation for sounding like a hybrid of The Ramones and Iggy Pop.The group, however, attempts to get away from this formula with deviations like "A Stroll Through the Hive Manor Corridor," a strange instrumental piece that seems like it would fit better on the soundtrack to a mystery film than anything else. While the instrumental does provide a nice break for one's ears after the constant pounding and riffing of the previous five tracks, overall, it feels out of place.
One of the album's experiments that results in overwhelming success is the Pharrell Williams-produced "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." This disco-infused track showcases exactly how the group has grown musically and created something radically different while still maintaining their unique style. Other attempts to deviate from their norm fall flat, most notably the dreadfully dull "Puppet on a String." The song seemed intriguing enough when the band revealed in a Rolling Stone interview that one track on their new album contained nothing other than piano and hand claps.While the premise sounded interesting, the result missed the mark.
Many fans appreciate The Hives specifically for their stripped-down feel In a world full of over-produced music created only for albums that sound terrible live. The Hives were a like a breath of fresh air. Though the band tightens and polishes their sound on The Black and White Album, fear not, the minimalist magic of The Hives is still there and in full force.
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