REVIEW: The Hives 'Lex Hives'

Famous for their raucous live performances, featuring matching black and white suits, THE HIVES have become a mainstay of the rock fraternity, with records like Tyrannosaurus Hives and Veni Vidi Vicious an absolute must on any rock nerd’s shelf.

After a lengthy hiatus, Sweden’s favourite garage punks are back with their fifth studio album, the Josh Homme produced Lex Hives.

Lex Hives is played at machine gun fire tempo, with Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist’s trademark snarl and the frenetic fretboard philandering of Nicholas Arson at the forefront of the record. THE HIVES have openly embraced their idols on this LP, IGGY POP shining through on ‘Take Back the Toys’, ‘I Want More’ and ‘My Time is Coming’. Most of us will already be familiar with first single, ‘Go Right Ahead, and infectious hooks on ‘Wait a Minute’ and ‘Patrolling Days…’ will no doubt ring in your ears for days to come.

The ever charismatic Almqvist is in vintage form on this record, his wild and unhinged energy leaping out of your headphones. Equal parts Jagger and Iggy, Almqvist is indeed a rockstar in classic sense.

As we have come to expect, THE HIVES have delivered up another tasty morsel of catchy, fast-paced punk mayhem. A tour is sure to follow the album’s release (this month) and these guys straight up SLAY live performances, so stay tuned for announcements and updates.

Words by Dominic Sciberras