The Hives Forever Forever the Hives
There is a fairly impressive amount of confidence in calling an album The Hives Forever Forever the Hives. Fortunately, the band have brought enough songs to support the claim. This is another short burst of garage rock, full of sharp riffs, sudden stops and choruses that don't take long to explain themselves.
After the brief introduction, Enough Is Enough gets straight into the real business. Howlin' Pelle Almqvist still sounds as though being in this band is the most urgent job available. The guitar parts are simple and effective, while the drums make sure nothing settles down for long. Hooray Hooray Hooray keeps the pace high. It is difficult to mistake either song for the work of anybody else.
That familiarity could be a problem across a whole album. The Hives avoid it by making small changes matter. Paint a Picture shifts the pace around its chorus, giving the hook room to land. Bad Call has a particularly good riff and one of the record's strongest melodies. These are compact songs with clear ideas, and the band rarely keep an idea going after it has done its job.
Legalize Living adds a little more colour through the synths and a different kind of groove. The change is welcome without making the album feel divided. You can hear the same band underneath it, just taking a slightly different route to the chorus. Born a Rebel also has enough movement in its arrangement to keep the familiar swagger interesting.
There isn't a huge emotional range here, and the self-celebration can become a little much. The title track is effectively the band's own theme song. Subtlety was clearly unavailable when that one was written. Still, its chorus does exactly what a theme song should.
At roughly half an hour, the album leaves before the limited range becomes a real problem. The playing is tight, the hooks are plentiful, and the band sound fully committed to the noise. The Hives have made another very good argument for continuing to be The Hives.
