Your New Favourite Band [ECD] - Hives (The) > Reviews > Not My New Favourite Band!

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Lacking inspiration
Lyrics	Mediocre
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money

Advantages:	Spiky garage rock with a kick, infectious, raw rock 'n' roll
Disadvantages:	Idiotic lyrics, simple guitar work, inconsistent

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I hate birthdays sometimes. Not only do you get socks and yukky jumpers but you also get pointless vouchers. Vouchers- what a bloody stupid idea, you pay for the exact voucher prize, yet you can only spend vouchers in ONE shop!! So, here I was, in W H Smith, trying desperately to find something to spend my vouchers on.

So, as you do, I decided to put my trust in five handsome lads from Sweden; The Hives. Unfortunately, now I really wish I hadn’t. It’s not that the album is poor, rather that I could have saved my money and instead stuck an old Kinks album on the turntable and rock ‘n’ rolled to my heart’s content- such is the similarity between the reckless hedonism of 60’s rock and this latest offering from Scandinavia.

Looking at the song titles you’ll already know that this is not going to be the most intelligent form of rock music you’ve ever heard. For example, would you even bother listening to songs that were called:
“a.k.a I-D-I-O-T” and “Hail Hail Spit n’ Drool”? Then again, if ‘intelligent’ is what you are expecting, you have already misunderstood the whole point of The Hives. For although this is perhaps one of the most unoriginal and uninspiring albums I have ever heard, it is also one of the most infectious with simplistic, catchy riffs and raw vocals (epitomised by the hit single “Hate to say I told you so”). Indeed, this bunch are not out to try anything new, their only objective being to make music which you can truly party to.

Interestingly enough, all the songs on this album are taken from four separate EP’s making this album somewhat of a ‘Best of’ collection. Yet, you would hardly notice as all the songs on display here possess identical structures, themes and goals- namely to get drunk, get laid and rock n’ roll till you drop dead. So then, The Hives- a good band for a laugh, a great band for a party. But my new favourite band?……HELL NO!!