The Hives - The Black And White Album (2007)

The Black And White Album by The Hives

Career Overview
When the garage rock revival hit big in the US in 2001 with the Strokes, White Stripes, et al, it came as a surprise to many Yanks that a number of Swedish bands had been doing it longer and arguably better. Of these, the hyperactive Hives broke the biggest in the States. Complete with band uniforms and a singer named Howlin’ Pelle Almquist they trotted out a frenetic, ’60s-influenced sound full of cutting riffs and stabbing rhythms, perfectly in tune with the retro times.

Biography
This garage punk outfit was formed in Fagersta, Sweden in 1993. The five members go by the stage names of Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist (b. 1979; vocals), Vigilante Carlstroem (b. 1977; guitar), Nicolaus Arson (b. Nicholaus Almqvist, 1978; guitar), Chris Dangerous (b. 1978; drums) and Dr. Matt Destruction (b. 1978; bass), and dress impeccably in matching black shirts and trousers with white ties and shoes. Signed to a subsidiary of the Stockholm-based Burning Heart label, the quintet made their recording debut with 1996’s mini-album Oh, Lord! When? How?.

The full-length Barely Legal and the a.k.a. I.D.I.O.T. EP followed over the next two years. Incendiary live performances helped to fuel the Hives’ growing reputation, but they had to wait until 2000 before they made their international breakthrough with Veni Vidi Vicious. The album’s winning combination of melody, attitude and cool saw the Hives hailed as the new Flamin’ Groovies (or even the new Rocket From The Crypt in some quarters). The band enjoyed even more success with the UK-only compilation Your New Favourite Band, released on Alan McGee’s Poptones label in 2001.

The album, buoyed by the concurrent success of back-to-basics rock acts the White Stripes and the Strokes, proved to be an unexpected hit, achieving gold status and entering the UK Top 10. The band subsequently signed a worldwide record deal with Universal Music, making their belated debut for the label in summer 2004 with the slick Tyrannosaurus Hives.
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Tick Tick Boom

The Black And White Album tracklists are:

01
Tick Tick Boom
02
Try It Again
03
You Got It All Wrong
04
Well Allright
05
Hey Little World
06
A Stroll Through Hive Manor Corridors
07
It Won’t Be Long
08
THEHIVES
09
Return The Favour
10
Giddy Up
11
Square One Here I Come
12
You Dress Up For Armageddon
13
Puppet On A String
14
Bigger Hole To Fill

Buy the CD album Black And White Album

Full Mp3 Downloads The Black And White Album

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 at 1:15 pm and is filed under Alternative, Pop. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.