The Hives Discography – A Musical Timeline

Like everything ‘The Hives’ I will keep this short and sharp. I have 50 The Hives (note no ‘The’ after this for brevity) tracks on my ipod with a total running time under 2 hours. Divide 50 into 120 minutes and I think you’ll get the picture…

I initially happened across The Hives near the end of 2003 when Andre 3000 – half of Outkast – was promoting the double album Speakerboxx / The Love Below on the Australian late night music show Rage.

His musical taste was as eclectic as his dress sense at the time and in between Kate Bush, heavy metal and of course a bunch of classic hip-hop was ‘Hate to say I told you so’ from the Hives album Veni Vidi Vicious. Might I just say if you only listen to one song as a result of this article, make it that one.

In any case after that one listen I looked them up, a process made easier by the release of Tyrannosaurus Hives only a couple of months later. I took a punt, bought the album, then the debut Barely Legal and Veni Vidi Vicious. And every album since.

The Hives are a pop-punk 5 piece from Sweden, all with interesting names; for the record

  • Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist – Vocals
  • Vigilante Carlstroem – Rhythm Guitar
  • Chris Dangerous – Drums
  • Dr Matt Destruction – Bass
  • Nicholaus Arson – Lead Guitar

their songs are short, sharp and catchy as all hell, with energy being the prevailing emotion. Given this brevity their albums are similarly quick, most clocking in under the 30 minute mark – even their best of, brazenly titled ‘Your new Favourite Band’.

This energy and audacity makes a Hives live gig absolutely memorable and essential, I attended the 2005 gig at Metropolis in support of Tyrannosaurus Hives and they played for over 2 hours. Now keep in mind at the time they had but three albums totaling maybe 90 minutes and stage patter was hilarious but minimal. The Hives might be short and sharp, but they are undoubtedly sweet.

It’s easy to allege that with an average track length of 2 1/2 minutes that the Hives music is samey cookie cutter punk-pop, this couldn’t be further from the truth. After you listen to each album a few times the songs become easy to differentiate and appreciate, the standouts become more familiar and the one or two lesser tracks easier to ignore.

The so-called ‘standard’ Hives track is fast and frenzied, often with a saliva drenched vocal from frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almkvist, a shoutalong hook or chorus and a jangly guitar riff from equally animated Nicholaus Arson. Yet from this simple formula they have already amassed a formidable cadre of amazingly catchy tracks that include the aforementioned (and immortal) I Hate to say I told you so, Walk, Idiot Walk, Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones and Main Offender.

I could go on, and I will. In album order.

Barely Legal 1997

Cocky as fuck and brilliant from day 1, Barely Legal opens with the lightning quick Well, Well, Well and churns through 14 tracks in 27 minutes. Highlights include A.K.A. I.D.I.O.T., Here we go again, Automatic Schmuck and Hail, Hail, Spit and Drool, but in all 12 made the cut on the ipod, showing an enviable consistency for a debut.

A great album only missing an All Time Classic. It wasn’t far away though…

Veni Vidi Vicious 2000

Pop-punk perfection. Ear candy for those who like it loud.

I have every single track on the ipod and took this opportunity to see if a cull might be in order. No dice. In fact it might be quicker to list the two songs not granted ‘Excellent ****’ or ‘Brilliant *****’ status. Statecontrol and the vaguely calypso change of pace Find Another Girl will have to settle for plain old three star Very Good status.

This album has no less than three All Time classics leading off with Die, All Right, moving onto the shoutalong chorus of Main Offender and culminating in one of my favourite tracks ever (as if you can’t tell yet) in Hate to say I told you so.

Yet so strong is the album that after that song – track 6 – there are 4 other Excellent tracks with the awesome Supply and Demand closing out proceedings.

In fact if I have only one criticism, it is that the first half of the album has so many amazing songs that the latter half looks bland by comparison, even though it is full of especially worthy tracks that might prove career highlights for many other bands.

I don’t know Latin, but I am positive Veni Vidi Vicious means ‘Find it, Buy it, Cherish it’.

Tyrannosaurus Hives 2004

Dumb title, another brilliant album. An indulgent 29 minutes in length, Tyrannosaurus Hives saw the group not fixing it, cos the damn thing sure wasn’t broke.

Highlight Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones missed ‘Hate to say I told you so’ levels by a curly hair, and yet again all 12 tracks made it past ipod screening, which I might add is far tighter than any post 9/11 requirements at major airports.

Another 8 or so tracks ranging from Excellent or Brilliant, with lead single Walk, Idiot Walk and Missing Link especially memorable.

While the overall sonic quality is slightly lesser than Veni Vidi Vicious the lyrics are definitely cleverer, with some of the songs quite smart and sarcastic if you bother to listen to the lyrics.

If you didn’t know of VVV it would be easy to sell this to the unwary as a career highlight, and even if that album didn’t exist there is plenty here for the long haired, skinny, pasty Swedish pop-punkers to be proud of.

As the overzealous art teacher (voiced by Jon Lovitz) on The Simpsons might exclaim “Another Triumph!”.

The Black and White Album 2007

Leaping off with the simply brilliant Tick Tick Boom, The Black and White Album is longer (a mind-blowing 45 minutes, a normal album and a half!), more ambitious, and initially less accessible than any of its forebears.

But it grows on you – then again so does fungus – though this is no green slimy parasitic plant.

The minor problem that this increased album length brings is that of bloating, in fact three minor cuts – the twee instrumental ‘A stroll through Hive Manor corridors’, the plodding and aggravating ‘Puppet on a string’ and the slightly generic closer ‘Bigger hole to fill’ would see 9 minutes excised resulting in a uniform lift in quality.

The remaining album would still be a notch below VVV and Tyrannosaurus Hives, but would be leaner, meaner and a little more palatable.

The Black and White Album was by no means a dud, but after a couple of year wait for a follow up (with a few unexplained delays) it was always going to be tough to live up to the heightened expectations.

Lex Hives 2012

And now here we are. Opening with a 60 odd second fireball entitled Come On!, where the only lyrics are those two words repeated some 20ish times. I like the intent – especially given that it is the same technique they have used successfully before – but it just seems a little forced here.

Song #2 ‘Go Right Ahead’ is again a familiar story, an obvious attempt at a lead off single complete with annoying vocoder hook, the chorus is nonetheless a beat for beat rehash of an 80s? song called ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’. Check it out, I’m positive.

But the familiarity isn’t all contemptuous, with 2 minute spine tinglers 1,000 Answers (being an obvious next single) and If I Had A Cent being obvious standouts. Unfortunately aside from these and maybe Wait a Minute (formulaic Hives but catchy) decent tracks are thin on the ground.

In fact the two biggest departures from normal Hives fare, I Want More and Without the Money, suck.

Yep, I’m sorry, they suck. I wish they didn’t. Read the 1,000 plus words above if you doubt my sincerity.

But they suck.

For mine Lex Hives has a couple songs that belong in their top 30 tracks – but only a couple. And maybe 2 more in their top 60. But that’s four songs.

Four.

I still love The Hives, but a 33% success rate on a 12 tracker isn’t cutting it.

I haven’t written about my 12 year rule yet, but it’s coming, the central premise of the theory is that elite musicians have a 12 year window in which to make hay. Barely Legal came out 15 years ago, now their best tracks are 120 second replicas of those early songs that were once so effortless but now are further and farther between.

Just sayin’…

In Summation

I will always love The Hives. That has been a certainty since Tyrannosaurus Hives and the 2005 gig. Tick Tick Boom proves they still very much have it in them, their hilariously self aggrandising website and bafflingly esoteric DVD proves as much.

A recent interviewer asked if they felt insulted by bands who so obviously copied their style and image – a fair question – and I was delighted when Howling Pelle replied with a simple “No, because if they are just like us they might be worth listening to”.

I can’t wait for their next headlining gig here, nor their next album. I don’t really care too much for the mystery 6th member alluded to in interviews (see the reverse cover of Tyrannosaurus Hives right. Count the legs and divide by 2!), but if he is the creative force I hope he never leaves.

If he is merely a ruse or elaborate hoax then who cares, let’s hope the remaining 5 guys keep pushing 2 and 3 minute gems of sweet pop-punk goodness down the pipeline to my expectant ears.

Take next Christmas off guys.

OGR

About OGR

While I try to throw a joke or two into proceedings when I can all of the opinions presented in my reviews are genuine. I don't expect that all will agree with my thoughts at all times nor would it be any fun if you did, so don't be shy in telling me where you think I went wrong... and hopefully if you think I got it right for once. Don't be shy, half the fun is in the conversation after the movie.
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