Black And White Album - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
It's about time some authority finally declared the Hives the greatest live band in the world. And The Black and White Album, their third U.S. full-length, as a jaw-dropping facsimile of a band leaping and lurching live, three feet from your face. Big backing vocals, propulsive rhythms, and twin-guitar thickness, will have you convinced the Swedish quintet is playing live inside your head. Yes, the trope of "Tick Tick Boom"--Black and White's first single--has come up in rock before (P.O.D., Saliva). But the Hives do the exploding "Boom" thing leaner, Pelle Almquist leading massed-vocal choruses and bright, fist-raised guitars--meshing upstart garage punk and sheer pop style. Black and White spills infectiously catchy singles, with the sing-song, stomping chorus of "Try it Again" ("up and down and round again/You get up, you get down, and you try it again") and maracas, and counter-riffing guitars creating a fab dance-floor vibe with the boom-boom-slap of the drums a perfect backdrop. Then there are the other 12 tunes here, a couple electro-tinged and the rest making a persistent case for these Swedes to be burned on your brain. --Andrew Bartlett

Amazon.com

Though the garage-rock boom of the early '00s has long since passed, Sweden's The Hives are among the few to have survived the hype and continued playing their brand of rough, howlin' rock. The quintet has actually found a nice middle ground over the seven years since 2000's Veni Vidi Vicious, gaining respectable appreciation in the U.S. without breaking out huge like it seemed they might. By the sound of The Black And White Album however, they're not content with that.

Broader, more adventurous, and sporting production credits from Modest Mouse collaborator Dennis Herring and The Neptunes' Pharrell Williams, Black and White is the band's most nakedly ambitious release. At least half of the record is among their best work to date; lead track "Tick Tock Boom," for instance, is an absolute gas, full of exuberant stomp and rowdy glam. As the record progresses, so too does the experimentation. "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." drives their stripped-down rock into new wave territory, like Queen once did on "Another One Bites the Dust" (except Queen pulled it off). Some songs, like the quirky, borderline-ridiculous "Giddy Up!" go off the deep end completely. But like everything The Hives do, the album is interesting even at its worst--and totally fantastic at its best. --Matthew Cooke

Amazon.com
Ladies and gentlemen, THE HIVES return with The Black and White Album!

Recording around the world (Sweden, Memphis, Miami, London) with a mind-blowing cast of producers (Dennis Herring, Pharrel Williams, Jacknife Lee) THE HIVES are set to release the definitive, kick-your-ass, funky, fun, and of course, rock n rollin' record of your life!

Check out their Fall 2007 tour with Maroon 5!

The Hives Photos

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Tussles in Brussels

Tyrannosaurus Hives

Veni Vidi Vicious

Your New Favorite Band (Bonus DVD)

Album Description
2007 release of the Swedish rockers' follow-up to to the successful Tyrannosaurus Hives. Having achieved a considerable amount of international success, The Black and White Album was recorded in different parts of the world to expand the band's sound and experience what other places have to offer. After some initial recording at Hive Manor, the group recorded outside of Sweden for the first time to put music to tape. The majority of tracks were recorded in Mississippi with producer Dennis Herring (Modest Mouse, Elvis Costello). In Miami, they collaborated with R&B superstar Pharrell Williams, (resulting in 'T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S' and 'Well Allright!'), while in London, they recorded at Olympic Studios with Jacknife Lee (U2, Bloc Party, Editors) at the helm (producing 'Hey Little World'). Features the first single 'Tick Tick Boom'. Interscope.

Album Details
24bit Digitally Remastered Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase.

Customer Reviews: Read 37 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Solid, energetic, frenetic, and worth some bouncing around in your living room November 15, 2007
20 out of 21 found this review helpful

I rarely give something brand new a 5-star rating, only because I tend to think that an item has to stand the quality test of time before I can comfortably say, "I love it!", but The Hives have quite simply secured my vote with their musical attitude.

I first saw the Hives on one of those sinful MTV shows (movie awards? music awards? is there a difference?) and one of the corporate trend-analysts-cum-vee-jay was talking about the rise of the 'The' bands, and the next feature (after commercial) was to be a classic 'Battle of the Bands,' featuring The Hives and The Vines.

As soon as the commercial break was over, and the so-called Battle began, it became quite clear who were MTV's boys. The Vines played in the center of the ungodly large stage, and The Hives were set up in the furthest corner of stage right. The 5 Hives were crammed together and of course played a tight rendition of "Hate to Say I Told You So" through an equalizer set-up that was probably done by the lowest intern on the food chain, while the 3 Vines strutted about in their MTV mansion and the singer did everything he could to make sure we thought that he didn't want to be there. Of course, the cramped quarters worked wonders for The Hives, for a band that stands close together plays close together, while The Vines were trying too hard to not look like corporate lapdogs.

Immediately, I knew that The Hives had something special going on, a purist energy that was both serious and playful, self-effacing and lacking the quality of giving a hoot about it, while The Vines were going to have a short career that would spiral into pretension and tediousness. The Vines wanted to be a mix of Kim Gordon and The Beatles, while The Hives were there to play, damn the consequences and who might be listening (or not wanting to listen). The kitschy matching suits, the bravado of their image (this album titles each band member His Royal Highness Prince)--all of it shows a desire in The Hives to make fun of themselves in their bravado, so that the real focus is always the music itself.

While previous albums carried themselves on their tight, energetic, basement sound, this album has a little more refinement--but not so much to lose track of the fact that these guys are quite simply the most balls-to-the-wall band in the popular limelight right now. From the head-bobbing energy of the first single, "Tick Tick Boom," to the vocal meltdown into wordless energy in "Return the Favour," The Hives have freneticism in spades. There are, of course, some attempts for new direction with the lounge-meets-Zelda "A Stroll Through Hive Manor Corridors" and the almost disco drive of "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." and the Swedish-country gallop of "Giddy Up!" These are interesting tracks, especially since The Hives merely remind us that they think about their sound and are willing to try out something new, as long as it remains fun.

By the time I finished my first listen, I wanted to go back to the beginning and go through it all again. That is rare enough, I find, for a new release, so high marks for this release from a band that is here to remind us that US pop has already become an overspecialized dinosaur, and that we need to start listening to some real Garage rock again.

4 out of 5 stars

We rule the world...this is the world! November 18, 2007
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

There is an air of last-ditch desperation surrounding The Hives' latest full-length album. But it is - like Veni Vidi Vicious and Tyrannosaurus Hives - plagued by the band's biggest asset/detriment. From the beginning, The Hives have maintained that they are the only band that matters, from "The Hives are law; You are crime" to the brazen cockiness of calling a CD Your New Favorite Band. That attitude lends itself to the full-on assault that makes the opening salvo "Tick Tick Boom" a turbo charged potential garage rock classic, and then the hook-laden second track, "Try It Again" is all dance-floor stomp with a kiddie chorus. Do you miss The Ramones? Pine for Detroit noise from early Iggy or The MC5? These tracks and "Return The Favor" fill that bigger hole and The Hives are ready to do anything in their considerable powers to insure that you not only hear it, but feel it.

Those first two songs are everything The Hives (and their most rabid legion of fans) claim they are. Twin guitar slams of attitudes that just overwhelm you with their energy and frontman "Howling" Pete's undeniable force of rock. But that all-encompassing belief that they are an amazing band and you need to know it forces dopey leftovers like the instrumental "A Stroll Through Hive Manor Corridors" and the draggy piano based "Puppet on a Sting" left on a CD to show the band's warts. For The Hives detractors, these indulgences (including the DEVO-ish "Giddy Up") are all the evidence they need to dismiss the band as cartoon posers, Stooges wannabes without the guts to make it stick.

"The Black and White Album" is the sound of The Hives trying to overcome that adversarial barrier to the stardom they obviously feel they deserve. The two tracks with Pharrel Williams, "Well All Right!" and "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S" scream mainstream single, with the self-shout-out of "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S" seeming to beg for success ala Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust." (I should add that it is my second or third favorite track on the CD.) This may also be the cleanest sounding Hives album so far, forcing their neo-garage assault into sharp, and yes, black-and-white relief. It makes "The Black and White Album" The Hives' most adventurous and (dare I say it) most likely album for world-class success.

5 out of 5 stars

Not just singles and filler, this is a ALBUM. November 13, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Hi friends.
Above average Hives fan, keep that in mind.

It's 2007, folks. People are downloading singles or buying albums designed to be full albums. The Hives know this and give (as always) the biggest bang for the buck: fourteen songs priced for EVERYONE to afford, which sound BEST all together, and in chronological order.

You have got the classic Hives songs for the familiar: Tick Tick Boom, Try It Again, You Got It All... Wrong, Hey Little World, Won't Be Long, Return the Favour, Square One Here I Come, Bigger Hole to Fill. Great, fast, upbeat songs. Lots of places to sing along by the time you get to the second chorus, they are THAT catchy. Guitars sound great, some wonderful piano accompanying songs, bass is deep and prominent.

The amount of excellent classic Hives songs on this album meets or exceeds the number of standout tracks on their other great CD's, so right off the bat, this CD is very satisfying. I've asked other Hives-loving friends of mine how they feel for the album, and while we all have different favorite songs from the classic sounding tracks, we dig them all.

But here's where it becomes an album, the songs in between: Well All Right! (zoot suit big band sound), A Stroll Though Hive Manor Corridors (a droning instrumental organ song that makes Won't Be Long TEN times cooler when listened back to back), T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S. (turns into the most self-absorbed cheesy AND FUN disco song, right up there with their superiority complex), Giddy Up! (a lusty DEVO-like disco track), You Dress Up For Armageddon (fun, swinging rocker) and Puppet On a String (slow, droning piano track).

These fun, experimental new tracks, when listened to in proper CD track order, make the album so much more fun. You get a fun smile about how different or kooky these oddball tracks are, and then before you wonder if the Hives have "lost their touch", you get a KILLER classic sounding song immediately afterwards. And, by the time you listen to the album 3x through, you come to love the oddball tracks for themselves.

The classic songs are astounding, the non-classic sounds are damn fun and kooky, but when they're all together, it's a full start-to-finish satisfying music experience. I'm so glad that The Hives are able to do what they do: evolve and make their music and shows affordable for everyone. With three long years between albums, I would want the band to mature, branch out and IMPROVE. I think they did all three with this.

I also recommend buying the UK version with the bonus track: Fall Is Just Something That Grownups Invented. It's 100 mph of Hives fun, and (since the track order of this album is key to its enjoyment) goes perfectly after Bigger Hole To Fill.

4 out of 5 stars

This is one fun album to listen to... January 18, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

The Hives' "Black and White Album" is exactly what you think it's going to be...a series of catchy, manic songs crisply played with abandon.

The album roars from the start, with the terrific one-two punch of "Tick Tick Boom" and "Try It Again". "Tick" kickstarts everything with a fake-tune-up, wandering-around-the-stage snippet of noise, before launching into howling "Yeahs!" Churning guitars back up the ping-pong vocals, and the sudden silent brake stops are thrilling. LOOOOOVE the "booms". It's a kick.

"Try It Again", with plenty of power chords to pogo to, just blasts out of speakers. The sassy cheerleading backups somehow work...this is modern rock that has an equal chance of making you smile as make you dance.

As other reviewers have noted, there's a "sameness" to many of the tracks, and they proudly wear their influences on their collective sleeves. That's fine with me. I listen to a Hives song to get exactly this sort of vibe and energy, and they are perfectly happy to supply me with some. Smart bands know how to incorporate their history with their "art". I find it fun to pick out the "Devo" moment, or their Midnight Star crib.

"Midnight Star" you ask? Well, I have to admit, during the song, "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." I couldn't get the "Z.O.I.D.S." spelling chant out of my head, from the song, "Freak-a-zoid." But the chorus also has an 80's New Wave sound as well...

"Square One Here I Come" is another headlong sprint of a rock song, with an irresistible guitar hook. Actually, the song has like FOUR guitar hooks...man, if this song had been around for those Airband Mock Rock contests back at UCLA in the early 80's...

This is one fun album to listen to...

5 out of 5 stars

Well All Right! December 3, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This is the most entertaining, best get up and dance album of the year.

All of the songs are great but the ones that stand out (for me):

Tick Tick Boom
Try It Again
You Dress up for Armageddon
Well Allright!
It Won't Be Long

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