It’s been three long years since we’ve heard from Swedish garage-punk darlings The Hives. Fans won’t have to wait much longer, thanks to the November 13 release of “The Black And White Album,” the long awaited follow-up to 2004’s “Tyrannosaurus Hives.” The Hives bring their frantic, energetic rock n’ roll style back in full force on “Tick Tick Boom,” with vocalist Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist living up to his moniker quite nicely. And in tracks like “Try It Again,” you can see why Spin Magazine named Almqvist one of their “50 Greatest Front men of All Time.” My favorite track is “Fall Is Just Something Grownups Invented”–a good time, punk rock sing-along that begs to be heard live.
Helping The Hives out on this album is an impressive cast of producers, including Pharrell Williams (The Neptunes, N.E.R.D.) and Dennis Herring (who has worked with Elvis Costello and Modest Mouse). The end result is a rollicking rock n’ roll record that proves to be well worth the three year wait.