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Review
All the showmanship is there on the immediate, aural explosion of "Tick Tick Boom", which goes back to the fun stuff of "Hate To Say I Told You So", when Hives were our new favourite band. The midas talents of guest hip hop producer Pharrell are all over the "T.H.E. H.I.V.E.S".
A genius slice of future funk that Prince would be proud of, with the band spelling out their name in an almost Hot Chip dead-pan patter. Falsetto frontman, Howlin' Pele has got balls as he sings: 'You're looking at black and white/ Seeing our name in lights! We rule the world, this is our world'.
"Giddy Up!" is part of the speedier second half of the record dominated by tracks produced by Dennis Herring, and takes the listener to a cheeky moment when only sex can do the talking, with the lines: 'Our only way to reconcile/ Is to get back in the saddle for a little ride/ Giddy up now!' Pete's irrisistable repetition gets lodged in your head, along with the kids toy sound effects. It's then back to the speedy, energetic rock charged stuff of, "You Got It All! Wrong", about the inevitable dumping of a lover: 'We had a laugh, but it turned into a cough/We got along/but I wanna get off'.
The record also weaves pockets of otherworldly instrumentals in a playful faux-menacing soundtrack on "A Stroll Through Hive Manor Corridors" via old fairgrounds and a deserted house of horrors with the spooked synths of "Puppet On A String". What these interludes add to the mixture beats me, but it's put the band out there; they've opened the realms of experimentation.
This album is full to the brim of enjoyable poke and laugh-at-yourself tracks that will get you singing along and are deftly executed, but when the music stops they are just not memorable enough. Guitarist Nicholaus Arson said: 'If The Beatles could make a White Album and Metallica could make a Black Album, there was only one band who could make a record twice as good as those two combined'.
I guess we're still waiting then...? --Sonja D'Cruze
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Customer Reviews
Many people say The Hives are a one trick pony.
And they might be right.
But its one hell of a rocking pony.
A pony dressed in a black saddle and a white tie, with a haircut all the ponies in Shoreditch will be copying by the end of the month.
The best track are the first track 'Tick Tick Boom' and the eighth track 'T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.' (which was produced rather well by that nice young man Pharrell)
If you like rocking out and shouting lyrics at the top of your voice then buy it.
If not spend your money on Orson's new effort. Im sure its just lovely.
The problem is this - when its good, its bloody good. Possibly some of the best material they've produced. There's absolute belters like "Tick, Tick, Boom" and the marvellous "Try It Again". Pure, unadulterated Hive-tastic feel good rock out tunes. "You Got it All Wrong" again - classic shout along, quirky Hives.
The formula isn't in need of fixing - and they're certainly not pushing any boundaries - and they don't need to.
Where it falls down and drops that star is on tracks like "It Won't Be Long", "T-H-E-H-I-V-E-S" & the awful "Giddy Up". They're almost there in parts - but its clear that Pharell has had a (bad) influence here. The Hives are NOT hip-hop. To me these tracks fall flat and The Pharell connection fails. They're probably great if you're into hip-hop or whatever but I'm not and neither are they. They contain nothing that makes the Hives stand out.
Thankfully we're back to normal service by "Square One Here We Come" and the sublime "You Dress Up For Armageddon." The less said about "Puppet on a String" the better and "Bigger Hole to Fill" rounds it off nicely.
The quality of the good tracks push this firmly into 4 territory - but its a pity about Pharell's meddling. I'm not normally used to skipping tracks on a Hives album so fingers crossed on a different producer that will leave them alone to do their own very special thing next time.
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